The family of murdered Julie Hogg have described her killer William Dunlop as a "cold, calculated killer and he always will be" following his latest parole hearing.
Ann Ming, Julie's mother, and her grandson Kevin Hogg spoke after an eight-hour public parole hearing on Wednesday, October 21, when Dunlop submitted his first application for release.
Murder and the double jeopardy fight
Dunlop, known as Billy, has served more than two decades in prison for the murder of Julie Hogg in 1989. He strangled the 22-year-old mother and concealed her mutilated body behind the bath panel in her own Billingham home.
After two juries failed to reach verdicts in two murder trials, he left court a free man. The double jeopardy law meant he could not face trial again for the same crime. He later bragged about being responsible for Miss Hogg's death while serving time for another violent offence.
He was imprisoned for two counts of perjury and, in 2006, following a campaign by Mrs Ming to overturn the law, he admitted guilt to her murder.
Parole hearing and recommendations
This was the fourth parole hearing the family have faced since Dunlop's 17-year minimum tariff expired. Two previous decisions recommended he be transferred to open conditions, but both were blocked by the serving Justice Secretary.
The panel heard evidence from the community offender manager, prison offender manager and two psychologists, all of whom recommended Dunlop be released on licence, reports Teesside Live.
Speaking to Teesside Live after the hearing, Mr Hogg said: "He said it's proven you can be rehabilitated - no one is denying that. However, he lied for years, he has only done 20 years and has only kept his head down for the past 16 years."
"Maybe he is doing the whole reverse psychology of 'I'll keep my head down and I'll hoodwink them with the situation, I lied for 20 years on the murder I can pull this off'. Psychopaths have multiple faces, with multiple personality traits."
During the hearing, professionals stated they believed there would have been tell-tale signs had Dunlop been "following a script".
Family's grief and next steps
Addressing the panel, Dunlop said he "totally gets" the anguish endured by Miss Hogg's family, having lost his own son last year. Mr Hogg, who was three years old when his mother was killed, said their grief cannot be compared.
Reading his victim personal statement at the hearing, Mr Hogg said: "I have lost much to this crime and his evil actions. I have lost the ability to experience joy. I have lost the ability to maintain lasting relationships. The anguish he has caused, simply cannot be measured nor indeed put down on paper."
Mr Hogg added: "At the last hearing [Dunlop] wouldn't sit in for me to read my victim personal statement. Now all of a sudden he has decided to sit in and he fully understands the grief because he has lost a child. He can't compare the way I lost my mum to the way he lost his son."
Mrs Ming said: "You just don't know. It's horrible really. They class it as a public hearing but we don't know what is being sad."
"He's a cold calculated killer and he always will be," she added. "I don't want another family to go through what we have at the hands of Dunlop. It's the only reason I want him kept in prison, for public protection."
Mrs Ming described the hearing as leaving her both mentally and physically drained, saying she finds herself in a perpetual state of waiting for decisions or the next battle.
She said: "I got the email from probation the first week in January to say we'd have the hearing later this year. As soon as you get that your thoughts are on the next one - who is doing the life sentence?"
The family now face a fortnight's wait to learn the independent panel's ruling, but say they will pursue every legal avenue available to them should he be granted release.
