After the Met used compelling forensic evidence to catch him and secure justice for the victim’s family, a pensioner is likely to spend the rest of his life behind bars for the brutal rape and murder of his teenage niece 48 years ago. Dennis McGrory was sentenced to 26 years in prison today, Friday, 13 January, at Huntingdon Crown Court for raping and murdering 15-year-old Jackie Montgomery in Islington in 1975 under rarely used double jeopardy legislation. He will most likely die in prison at the age of 75. The judge sentenced him to 26 years in prison, less time spent on remand. McGrory was finally brought to justice for his heinous crimes thanks to the tireless efforts of officers and forensic experts who, in close collaboration with colleagues from the Crown Prosecution Service, built a watertight case against him after reviewing the historic case. Because McGrory had previously been charged with murder and acquitted by a judge, officers from the Specialist Casework Team had to show that the new evidence against him was compelling. This proof came in the form of a DNA sample discovered on the victim, which forensic experts determined was one billion times more likely to belong to McGrory than to anyone else. Jackie’s body was discovered by her father at their home address in Offord Road, Islington, in the early hours of June 2, 1975. A post-mortem examination revealed that she had been stabbed several times, strangled with the flex of an iron, and suffered blunt force trauma to her face. There were also indications that she had been sexually assaulted. The atmosphere in the room suggested a struggle, and the phone was ringing nonstop. This supported the fact that the line was active as of late on the morning of June 1, indicating that the murder occurred before this time. The ringing phone was thought to be Jackie’s attempt to call for assistance. McGrory was Jackie’s aunt’s ex-long-term partner at the time of the murder. He was quickly arrested and taken into custody in connection with the incident. Images taken at the time revealed a bruised lip, a long scratch on his neck, and smaller scratches on his wrist and arm. He was charged with Jackie’s murder on July 10, that year. However, he was acquitted by a jury after the judge directed it. Following a request from Jackie’s family, who had been living with unanswered questions for decades, detectives from the Met’s Specialist Casework Team began a review of the case in November 2015. The Specialist Casework Team, which is part of the Central Specialist Crime Command, can be tasked with reinvestigating non-recent homicides where new lines of investigation have emerged. The detectives began by conducting a thorough review of the original case papers and quickly identified an opportunity to capitalise on advances in forensic technology. A swab taken from Jackie’s body at the time of the murder was re-examined and found to contain the DNA of a second person. Inquiries revealed that this was McGrory, whose information was already on the system following a conviction for unrelated offences in 2009. The DNA evidence also confirmed that Jackie had been raped before she was murdered. McGrory was re-arrested for Jackie’s murder on March 3, 2020, at his home address in Milton Keynes. In June 2020, 45 years after her death, he was charged with her murder for the second time. McGrory was 28 years old when he raped and murdered Jackie while she was alone at home. He had gone to the address in search of Jackie’s aunt, who had recently ended their relationship and moved to Manchester to get away from him. So she was not at the address when McGrory arrived that night, and it is likely that he took his rage and frustration out on the adolescent. He had been drinking heavily earlier that evening and had left a nearby N16 establishment around 04.00. He went to see a neighbour after the murder and was visibly shaken and excited. He showed this neighbour a piece of paper with what appeared to be Jackie’s aunt’s address written on it. He claimed the note was given to him by four “geezers” who assaulted him before passing it on. Officers were able to establish that the piece of paper found in McGrory’s possession when he was arrested during the original investigation had been torn from Jackie’s diary, which was found at the murder scene with a page removed. During the trial, it was revealed that McGrory had previously made comments to Jackie that suggested a sexual interest in her, including a threat to rape her.
