David McGreavy
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| “ | It was me, but it wasn't me... I put my hand over her mouth, and it went from there. It's all in the house. On Paul, I used a wire. I was going to bury him, but I couldn't. I went outside, and put them on the fence. All I could hear is kids, kids, kids. | „ |
| ~ McGreavy's confession to the murders. |
David Anthony McGreavy, AKA The Monster of Worcester, (born 1951) is an English convicted child murderer.
Worcester Murders edit
In 1973 McGreavy was working as a babysitter for the Ralph family in Worcester. On 13 April he went out to the pub, returning to the Ralph home drunk. According to McGreavy, at around 10:15 pm he became infuriated when 7-month-old Samantha Ralph wouldn't stop crying for her bottle. He violently attempted to cover her mouth, leading to a fatal skull fracture. When the other children, 2-year-old Dawn and 4-year-old Paul, began screaming, McGreavy slit Dawn's throat and strangled Paul to death. He then mutilated their corpses and impaled them on a neighbour's wrought iron fence before leaving.
The following day McGreavy was found wandering a nearby street at 3:50 am. When he was arrested he initially denied responsibility, but after several hours he admitted to killing the three children while drunk and angry. The only reason he would give was that Samantha would not stop crying.
Prison edit
On 28 June 1973 McGreavy appeared in court. He pleaded guilty after eight minutes with no motive given, and received multiple life sentences with minimums of 20 years. In prison he was regularly beaten and abused by fellow inmates and spent most of his time in solitary confinement for his own protection. He was reported to have successfully adjusted and accepted rehabilitation.
In 2006 The Sun reported that McGreavy had been transported to an open prison in Liverpool, where he was staying in a bail hostel after being released on licence. The resulting public outcry lead to McGreavy having his licence revoked and being moved back to a normal prison.
During a parole hearing in 2009 McGreavy was granted an anonymity order by the British High Court. This led to significant controversy, as it was felt by many that this would set a precedent that the press couldn't cover dangerous criminals. The order was eventually revoked in 2013 by Lord Justice Christopher Pitchford and Mr Justice Peregrine Simon based on the importance of public interest in McGreavy's release and the lack of imminent danger.
McGreavy was released on parole in December 2018, after 45 years imprisonment. The parole board's report said that McGreavy had changed significantly since his imprisonment.