William "Billy" Dunlop, the killer who strangled pizza delivery woman Julie Hogg and mutilated her body, will face the Parole Board again after being blocked from transferring to an open prison last year.
Dunlop, now in his 60s, killed the 22-year-old in Billingham, County Durham, in 1989. He hid her body behind a bath panel, where it remained undiscovered for more than two months. The attack followed Hogg rejecting him and involved a violent sexual assault, which prosecutors described as a "premeditated and truly horrendous" act.
Open Prison Transfer Blocked
The Parole Board had recommended Dunlop be moved to an open prison, but then-justice secretary Shabana Mahmood blocked the transfer in April 2025. He will now appear at further Parole hearings on Wednesday, October 21, and Thursday, October 22.
Following the Government intervention, Miss Hogg's family told the BBC they were "elated" and said Ms Mahmood had "truly put victims at the heart of the system." They added: "The decision to refuse the parole board's recommendation is the right decision for public safety."
Double Jeopardy Case
Dunlop originally sought release into the community but withdrew that application in 2024, stating he would be better suited to open prison conditions. He was tried twice for the murder, with both juries failing to reach a verdict.
Three years after the trial, while imprisoned for another crime, he confessed and admitted lying in court, boasting that the double jeopardy rule then in force meant nothing could be done about it. Miss Hogg's mother, Ann Ming, campaigned for 15 years to change the 800-year-old law, allowing him to be charged with the same crime twice. In 2006, he became the first person tried under the new rules and was convicted of murder, receiving a life sentence.
Fourth Review Ahead
Ann Ming and her grandson Kevin Hogg will travel to London for the second public parole hearing, which will be the fourth review overall for the murderer. His minimum jail tariff expired in 2021.
Ann believes Dunlop should never be freed and said she "dreads" the hearings. She stated: "I wish the tariff had been a full life sentence and we wouldn't be having this every year. They are torture for families, I dread them." She added: "He was diagnosed as a psychopath and they couldn't rehabilitate so why are doing this all this with his parole hearings, costing millions? It's really so unfair."
She also expressed frustration with the process, saying: "You have the victim impact statement and can only say certain things and that's not right. And he refused to go on to video at the last hearing - if you refuse that then you shouldn't get the parole."
