A murderer has said it is “possible” he could have killed more people if he was released from prison before a change in the law that eventually brought him to justice.
William Dunlop strangled pizza delivery woman Julie Hogg in Billingham, County Durham, in 1989.
He was tried twice for the murder, but both juries failed to reach a verdict.
A decade later, while in jail for another crime, Dunlop confessed and admitted lying in court, boasting there was nothing anyone could do about it because of the double jeopardy rule in place at the time.
But he was jailed for life in 2006 after Ms Hogg’s mother, Ann Ming, campaigned for 15 years to get the 800-year-old double jeopardy law changed so that he could be charged with the same crime twice.
Speaking from an unnamed prison during a public parole hearing on Tuesday, Dunlop admitted it was “possible” he could have killed more people had he been released before being brought to justice for the murder.
He said: “If I had been released in 2002, there would have been more victims. I was in such a bad place.
“My world was caving in on me. I didn’t have the control that was needed. I had family problems.”
When asked by the panel if he meant more murder victims, he said: “That is a possibility. If I had been released it wouldn’t have happened to start with. I would have been another car crash waiting to happen. It would have been a domino effect.”
Dunlop subjected Ms Hogg, who had a three-year-old son, to a violent sexual assault after she rejected him and hid her mutilated body behind a bath panel where it lay undiscovered for more than two months.
He told the parole hearing he wished he could “turn back the clock” and regretted “creating so many victims”.
Addressing the family directly, who were watching proceedings from a press room in the Royal Courts of Justice, Dunlop said: “I know it’s of little consequence, but I do regret the effect I’ve (had on) them in all these years and the years to come.
“My anger destroyed so many lives. Julie was a lovely woman. Really witty. It was all about me. I apologise.”
During his comments, the family were visibly upset with Miss Ming wiping away tears.
The parole hearing has been listed for two days and a decision is expected at a later date.
A prison offender manager, who declined to share their name but said they had been working with Dunlop since he arrived at the prison in December 2022, told proceedings on Monday they are confident Dunlop can be moved to an open prison.
They said he had shown “genuine remorse” for the murder of Miss Hogg – a revelation that resulted in groans from the victim’s family – and he had done sufficient work to address risk factors, ranging from violence to substance misuse.
