John McGrady

Background

John McGrady, aged 48, lived at Milford Towers, Catford, south London.

Rochelle Holness was a 15-year-old girl from Lewisham, south London.

The offence

Rochelle vanished after going out to call her boyfriend from a phone box on the Milford Towers estate.

McGrady carried out the attack on Rochelle Holness last September. Rochelle was thought to have been abducted at knifepoint from the phone box on a Sunday evening before being strangled and dismembered.

Her remains were placed in five bin bags and dumped near a stairwell on a housing estate. The dismembered body was found dumped near a stairwell on a housing estate.

Detectives said McGrady cut his victims into pieces with a hacksaw and left the parts in five bin bags near a rubbish chute in Milford Towers, Catford, south London, where he lived.

A post-mortem examination was unable to establish whether Rochelle had been sexually assaulted.

A psychiatrist who examined McGrady concluded that a sexual motivation could not be discounted.

Investigation

The dismembered body of Rochelle Holness was found after officers were alerted by ambulance crews who had been called to reports a man had injured himself.

Police found body parts in bin bags outside the flats.

Officers carried out door-to-door inquiries, and forensic experts were seen leaving with evidence bags.

Detective Inspector Tim Grattan-Kane said: "John McGrady is an absolute danger to any young woman, a spectacularly dangerous and violent man who when a desire befalls him he decides to inflicted it on innocent victims. 'He is prepared to use outrageous violence to achieve his ends."

Detective Inspector Tim Grattan-Kane said: "I am fairly confident Rochelle was dead within an hour of going into his flat."

Det Supt Paul McAleenan said: "At this early stage, it is not clear when Rochelle was killed. 'Petty theft' "I want to hear from anyone who was in the area at any time from Sunday evening to the early hours of Wednesday."

Detective Inspector Tim Grattan Kane said: "This woman is the first person to come forward since McGrady was sentenced and we are extremely grateful for having the opportunity to speak to her. "We have had a very long conversation with her and we are now trying to find the original reports of this attack (in Clapham in September 1976). "We are also hoping to find out if there was any forensic evidence left at this time. "But now that this woman has come forward and provided us with an account of the man who attacked her, we hope it might persuade other women to come forward. "We also can't pre-judge anything and our investigations into the woman's claims will continue. "It may be a long time ago but if any woman believes she was attacked by someone resembling McGrady, then they should contact us immediately."

McGrady had a history of abducting women in the street and forcing them to do things at knifepoint.

Arrest

McGrady was arrested after receiving treatment for minor cuts.

Trial

John McGrady pleaded guilty to murdering a 15-year-old girl whose dismembered body was found dumped on a housing estate.

The Old Bailey heard that McGrady carried out the attack on Rochelle Holness.

Anthony Orchard, prosecuting, said the court would require a psychiatric report before sentencing.

McGrady was remanded in custody at the Old Bailey and warned he would receive a life sentence at the next hearing.

Sentencing

Judge Stephen Kramer told McGrady: "You must have been motivated by a sexual desire and when you are drinking you are, and continue to be, a dangerous predator to women, especially young women. "The sentence will ensure you will never have the opportunity to prey on young women again. You cruelly took the life of that young girl and left her family and her mother bereft."

Rochelle's mother, Jennifer Bennett, shouted "Rot in hell" as McGrady was taken from the dock at the Old Bailey.

Detective Inspector Tim Grattan-Kane branded McGrady "evil" outside court.

Detective Inspector Tim Grattan-Kane said: "He should not have been on the streets, but hindsight is a wonderful thing. There was nothing that would have given the judge the sentencing powers to keep him off the streets for ever."

Appeals

No appeal information was provided.

Outcome

John McGrady was given a full life sentence for murdering 15-year-old Rochelle Holness on a south London council estate in September last year.

A psychiatrist who examined McGrady concluded that a sexual motivation could not be discounted, but a post-mortem examination was unable to establish whether Rochelle had been sexually assaulted.

Aftermath

Rochelle's family called for a change in the law so that communities are told when serious sexual offenders are living among them.

Rochelle lived with her mother and two brothers in Catford and was studying for GCSEs.

Rochelle left the flat after her mobile phone ran out of credit.

McGrady confessed to his girlfriend in a note he left after he slashed his wrists in a failed suicide attempt.

Rochelle's father Denroy stumbled across the murder scene while out searching for his daughter with other family members.

Christine Stewart, 40, had lived at the housing estate for ten years and planned to leave as soon as her son went to secondary school.

Christine Stewart said: "It is not a nice area," and: "There is lots of petty theft and my neighbour next door was burgled. "She found somebody in her house and the woman the other end was burgled at the same time. "It is a pretty nasty area - you just lock your doors and windows and hope no one bothers you."

The Home Office confirmed that McGrady had not been under supervision.

A spokesperson said the measures included "indeterminate public protection sentences, in which violent and sexual offenders can be held in custody for as long as is necessary".

Rochelle's parents, in a statement read outside court, said: "We hope these events send out a clear message to the country that sex offenders and murderers must in future be properly sentenced, treated and supervised on release, otherwise there will be many more victims. We pray that while serving his sentence, McGrady receives treatment so that he may truly take full responsibility for his actions and bring himself to explain why and how he did this to Rochelle."

The family criticised two tabloid newspapers that published lurid and false details about the case.

The Sun wrongly claimed Rochelle had been strapped to a table then dismembered while still alive.

The family complained to the Press Complaints Commission and said the newspaper had been as cruel to them as the man who murdered their daughter.

Outside court, Detective Inspector Tim Grattan-Kane branded McGrady "evil", and said: "He should not have been on the streets, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Past convictions and criminal history were described as long and violent, including convictions for rape and indecent assault, and previous prison for abduction and false imprisonment.

McGrady had been jailed for six years in 1988 after being convicted of raping two young women.

In 1993, McGrady was convicted of attempting to abduct a young woman at knifepoint and was jailed for five years.

The material described that in 1984 McGrady was acquitted of rape three times, telling juries the women had consented to sex.

It was stated that McGrady had worn a balaclava and used a knife in one case.

The material described that McGrady had cut his wrists and confessed to his girlfriend, leading to his arrest after receiving treatment for minor cuts.

Detectives feared McGrady was likely to have attacked women between his last release from prison in 1997 and his arrest last year, and victims were urged to come forward.

Detectives also spoke to an American woman who believed she was McGrady's first victim. The woman was considering an invitation by police to fly to London to make a statement about her identification of the Northern Ireland man as the scissors-wielding teenager who molested her in September 1976.

The material described that in 1976 McGrady regularly travelled from his home in the Markets area of east Belfast to visit relatives in south London, including his brother Kevin, an IRA killer.

It was stated that McGrady worked as an odd-job man and as a butcher for a time, and that his life was marked by heavy drinking.

Police said McGrady did not stray far from the flat in Catford, London, where he murdered and dismembered Rochelle.

Timeline

• 28 September 2005 — Rochelle Holness’s dismembered remains were found in bin bags outside the flats at Milford Towers, Catford, south London, after ambulance crews alerted police to a man who had injured himself.
• Sunday evening (year not separately stated) — Rochelle left to call her boyfriend from a phone box near her home on the Milford Towers estate.
• Monday (after Sunday) — Rochelle’s boyfriend called to say he had not heard from her.
• Tuesday (after Sunday) — Rochelle was reported missing.
• Wednesday (after Tuesday) — McGrady pleaded guilty to murdering Rochelle; the body was found the previous day.
• Thursday (after Wednesday) — A post-mortem examination was carried out.
• 17 May 2006 — McGrady was sentenced to die in jail after being convicted of murdering and dismembering a teenage girl; the article also described a full life sentence and included sentencing remarks.
• 15 May 2006 — McGrady was sentenced to life in prison.