David McGreavy, the man convicted of murdering three children in Worcester in 1973, has had his anonymity order lifted by the High Court. The 62-year-old was jailed for life for killing four-year-old Paul Ralph and his sisters Dawn, two, and nine-month-old Samantha at their home in Gillam Street.
The murders, which earned McGreavy the nickname 'Monster of Worcester', involved particularly brutal methods. Paul was strangled, Dawn had her throat cut, and Samantha died from a compound fracture to the skull. After the killings, McGreavy impaled the children's bodies on garden railings.
The anonymity order was imposed in 2009 during a hearing to protect McGreavy from other prisoners. However, Justice Secretary Chris Grayling and media organisations argued the ban was legally flawed and prevented public knowledge of the case. On Wednesday, Lord Justice Pitchford and Mr Justice Simon ruled to discharge the order.
McGreavy's counsel, Quincy Whitaker, argued that naming him would put him in danger from fellow inmates, noting he had been seriously assaulted in 1975 and 1996. The court heard McGreavy had previously spent two years in an open prison until hostile media coverage forced his return to closed conditions for his safety.
The judge indicated that McGreavy could potentially be allowed a change of name in the future to protect him. His ninth parole review is underway, with a hearing possible later this year. McGreavy has made several failed bids for parole since 2007 and currently resides in a vulnerable prisoners' unit.
