Trevor William Hamilton (born 19 June 1982) is a Northern Irish murderer from Sion Mills, County Tyrone. He abducted and murdered 65-year-old Attracta Harron, a recently retired librarian, when she was returning from Mass in Murlog, Lifford, County Donegal, on 11 December 2003. Four months earlier he had been released from prison on licence after serving half of a seven-year sentence for rape and other offences, including threats to kill; the risk he posed to the public, especially adult women, was assessed as high (level 3).[1][2]
Attracta Harron's body was found on 5 April 2004, four months after she was last seen alive, hidden in a river bank less than 50 yards from Hamilton's home.
Hamilton was found guilty of her murder on 12 April 2006. The trial judge, when sentencing him on 4 August 2006, recommended that he should never be released from prison[3] (the first time this had happened in Northern Ireland, though such sentences have been imposed on as many as 50 inmates in England and Wales). However, on 27 June 2008 the Court of Appeal instead ruled that he would have to serve 35 years before parole could be considered, meaning that he is now expected to remain in prison until at least 2040, when he would be 58.[4]
Hamilton's crimes were the subject of a serious case review in 2006.[5]
In autumn 2006, Hamilton was attacked and beaten by a fellow prisoner in Erne House in Maghaberry Prison. He has been held in Maghaberry since his conviction.[6] At that time he maintained his innocence of the Harron murder.[7]
References
edit- ^ Gerry Moriarty, 'A flasher at 12, rapist at 17, murderer at 21'. The Irish Times, 5 August 2006. Retrieved 1 February 2006
- ^ Martin McKeown, 'My ordeal at hands of Attracta's murderer'. Belfast Telegraph, 21 August 2006. Retrieved 1 February 2024
- ^ Reaction to murder life sentence - BBC News
- ^ Deborah McAleese and Emily Moulton, 'Fury over ruling that could see Attracta's killer freed'. Belfast Telegraph, 28 June 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
- ^ 'Serious Case Review. Trevor Hamilton'. Northern Ireland Assembly, 25 March 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2024
- ^ Deborah McAleese, 'Prison inmates cheer as killer Hamilton gets a beating in jail'. Belfast Telegraph, 21 September 2006. Retrieved 1 February 2024
- ^ J. Beattie, 'Exclusive: Attracta Killer's Jail Letters'. The Mirror, 13 October 2006. Retrieved 1 February 2024
External links
edit- Review of how he was supervised by the statutory agencies
- Northern Ireland Office statement
- Statement by Northern Ireland Prison Service
- Northern Ireland Courts Service press release on sentencing (DOC file)
- Northern Ireland Courts Service Judge McLaughlin's Sentencing Statement - Full Version
- Neutral Citation No.[2008 NICA 27 - Court of Appeal - The Queen v Trevor Hamilton
- Family site