A Fatal Accident Inquiry is to be held into the death of George Metcalff, the convicted murderer who died in HMP Barlinnie without ever revealing where he disposed of his victim's body.
Metcalff, also known as Kenny, was 72 when he received a life sentence in November 2021 for the murder of Patricia "Patti" Henry. He had committed a series of offences against women over nearly 50 years before killing the 46-year-old at her flat in Kirkwood Place, Girvan, on November 13 2017.
Inquiry into Prison Death
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has lodged a First Notice to begin court proceedings for the inquiry into Metcalff's death at the Golden Jubilee Hospital in August 2024. The Preliminary Hearing will take place on December 1 at Dumbarton Sheriff Court.
Metcalff was convicted of assaulting Henry "by means to the prosecutor unknown" and causing the injury from which she died. He had previously assaulted and raped her at an address in Paisley, Renfrewshire, and committed attacks and rapes on two other women in Paisley and Kilbarchan.
Body Never Found
Following the murder at the Girvan flat, Metcalff attempted to defeat the ends of justice by concealing and disposing of Henry's body and personal effects. He is believed to have hidden her body, most likely at a location he knew between Girvan and Paisley, possibly dumping it from a hired white van. Extensive searches have never found her remains.
After his conviction, Detective Superintendent Suzanne Chow appealed for him to "do the right thing" and reveal where Patti's remains were. Metcalff began his crimes against women at age 21, raping a teenager at a car park in Gleniffer Braes in 1971.
Jurors at his trial heard he first met his victim in 2008 when she became his neighbour in Burnfoot Crescent, Paisley. She moved to Girvan in 2017, and they made numerous calls and sent texts in the days before the murder, but the contact then stopped.
Mandatory Inquiry
Andy Shanks of COPFS, Scotland's death investigation authority, said: "The Lord Advocate considers that the death of George Metcalff occurred whilst he was in legal custody and as such a Fatal Accident Inquiry is mandatory."
"The lodging of the First Notice enables FAI proceedings to commence under the direction of the Sheriff," he added.
