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Double jeopardy man admits guilt Double jeopardy man admits guilt
(10 minutes later)
A Teesside man previously acquitted of the murder of a 22-year-old woman has finally admitted his guilt after a change in the double jeopardy law.A Teesside man previously acquitted of the murder of a 22-year-old woman has finally admitted his guilt after a change in the double jeopardy law.
Billy Dunlop had confessed to the 1989 murder of Julie Hogg, from Billingham.Billy Dunlop had confessed to the 1989 murder of Julie Hogg, from Billingham.
However, due to the 800-year-old rule under which anyone acquitted by a jury cannot be retried for the same crime, he could only be tried for perjury. Due to the 800-year-old rule under which anyone acquitted by a jury cannot be retried for the same crime, he could only be prosecuted for perjury.
In April 2005 the law was changed and Cleveland Police re-opened the case, resulting in Dunlop's admission.In April 2005 the law was changed and Cleveland Police re-opened the case, resulting in Dunlop's admission.
Miss Hogg, a pizza delivery girl, had gone missing from her Billingham home, and was discovered months later by her mother, stuffed behind a bath panel.
Campaigned tirelessly
Dunlop, 43, a labourer who lived nearby and had had a brief relationship with her, was charged with the murder.
He faced two trials, but each time the jury failed to reach a verdict and he was formally acquitted in 1991.
However, while serving a seven-year sentence for assaulting a former girlfriend and her lover he confessed to a prison officer that he had carried out the killing.
He could not be tried again for the murder because of the double jeopardy rule and was sentenced to six years for perjury in 2000.
The victim's mother, Ann Ming, campaigned tirelessly for a change in the law.