Pensioner convicted of raping, stabbing and strangling 15-year-old girl nearly 50 years ago

A corrupt pensioner who got away with murdering a teenage girl for nearly half a century has finally been brought to justice in England and Wales’ oldest double jeopardy case.

Dennis McGrory was 28 when he sexually assaulted, stabbed and strangled 15-year-old Jackie Montgomery at his home in north Islington. London1975.

The following year, a man from Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, was tried in a circumstantial court and was acquitted of the murder charges on the order of the judge.

But justice caught up with McGrory decades later, after a cotton swab taken from Montgomery’s body yielded a one-in-a-billion DNA match.

After the double jeopardy law was changed in 2003, the formerly unsolved case was referred to the Court of Appeals and a new trial was held at the Old Bailey.

The trial was stopped in March after the 75-year-old man fell ill, but was found guilty of rape and murder in a retrial at Huntingdon Criminal Court.

A jury at Huntingdon Criminal Court held just over an hour of deliberation on Monday and found McGrory guilty of both charges against him.

The defendant was taken into custody to be sentenced on January 13.

Jurors were said to be “enraged” when McGrory killed Jackie in an attempt to track down former partner Josie Montgomery (the victim’s aunt), who had an affair with friend John Malloy.

Prosecutor Sarah Przybilska said:

During the attack, he ripped out a page from a teenager’s diary that contained his aunt’s address.

Jackie’s body was found by her father, Robert Montgomery, lying on the floor of her Offford Road living room in the early hours of June 2, 1975.

She had suffered fatal stab wounds and blunt force trauma to her face and had been strangled with iron flexures.

McGrory had threatened to rape Jackie in the past, and he “pulled it off” that night, jurors said.

Prosecutor General Max Hill KC welcomed the conviction, saying, “This crime was committed 10 years before the CPS opened its doors and is the oldest case I have encountered.” There is no doubt that it is.

“This is one of the very few double jeopardy cases I have personally allowed to be brought before the Court of Appeals.

“As we approach the 50th anniversary of this crime, we are particularly pleased to have been able to reach a conviction on this issue over the years.

“Whether the acquittal was made five years ago or fifty years ago, as I did, asking an appeals court to vacate a murder acquittal is a very serious and rare event. It’s a step.”

Hill praised the “excellent” job of the police and CPS in bringing McGrory to justice.

He said it was a particularly “vicious murder” and that the DNA found in her body helped establish a “scientific link” between McGrory’s and Jacqueline Montgomery’s bodies.

“His DNA was found on her body in a setting that to this day denies she was at the scene or home of the murder,” Hill said.

“So, along with circumstantial evidence, including the discovery of a page torn from Jacqueline’s diary when she was arrested in 1975, very important new evidence was formed.

“Combining these two factors, we can conclude that he is in possession of the pages of his diary and the DNA samples he left in this poor girl’s body, other than that he exists and is a murderer. It became impossible to explain why.”

He added that the murder took place 50 years ago, but that doesn’t make the case any less important.

“Our thoughts are with all those who lost her and are still deeply saddened. That is what drives investigators and prosecutors.

“In this case, McGrory finally faces the prospect of spending the end of his life in prison.

“This McGrory must have believed he was innocent of murder. had the ability

“These cases are extremely rare and we see significant miscarriages of justice, such as wrongful acquittals for murders that were apparently committed, but the message is that the system will eventually catch you. is what we did in this case.

His conviction overturns a judge’s acquittal 46 years ago.

Deputy Superintendent Rebecca Reeves of the Metropolitan Police Specialist Casework Team said: “This was a very brutal attack on a young girl and my thoughts are with her family, her brother and the rest of her family who are still alive today. is with the members of

“Finally, I hope the outcome in court has brought them some element of comfort.

“This has been a very difficult investigation for many years. The 2022 court results and convictions will come after seven years of actual investigation work. I have worked with great dedication.

“McGrory was acquitted in court in 1976 thanks to a forensic investigation conducted at the request of Jackie’s family. and new compelling evidence brought to the Court of Appeals by the prosecutor.

“This is an extraordinary case, and the length of time that has passed has made it very difficult. Witnesses included Jackie’s family, and the police had to review the affidavits they took from them in 1975, and revisiting these events was, of course, very It was traumatic.

She added: “Members of her family gave evidence at this trial, and they were very brave. McGrory was a violent bully and a woman in his life.” terrorized the ..’

Claire Proger of CPS London’s Homicide Squad said, “Dennis McGrory has finally faced justice for his murderous act many years ago. You must have thought you ended your life and ran away.

“Further evidence collected by the police and used by the prosecution at trial has convinced the jury today that he committed these crimes. He now faces the possibility of ending his life in prison. I’m here.

Jackie’s sister Kathy said, “A violent man who lived in our family[raped and]murdered my sister. He was able to live his own life. He I spent nearly 50 years doing what I love as a free man.

“When my sister hadn’t even reached her 16th birthday, I find it intolerable. was.

“The investigation over the last few years has meant revisiting memories of murders that have caused pain and stress to me and my family, and I am relieved that justice has finally been achieved for Jackie. ”