Editing Ian Simms (section)

===Investigation===
Ian Simms was questioned by police in the wake of Helen's disappearance. Police became suspicious of Simms due to his nervousness and refusal to answer questions during his interview and impounded his car, finding traces of Helen's blood inside. They also found an opal and pearl earring in the car, which was later identified as one that belonged to Helen. Simms was arrested on suspicion of murder and his flat was searched. Inside the flat police found the butterfly clip from Helen's earring and spatters of Helen's blood on the wallpaper and carpet. Blood spatter analysis found that the spray patterns on the wallpaper were consistent with a blow or blows being struck against an already bloody surface, suggesting she had been hit at least twice in the face. Simms also had suspicious scratches on his face and changed his story about where they came from multiple times.

In March, Helen's handbag, coat, scarf, trousers, knickers and mittens were found in a river 20 miles away in a bin liner, which was determined to be from a roll of bin liners in Simms's flat. Also found in the bin liner was a jacket which Simms admitted was his. Both sleeves of the jacket had Helen's blood on them. The presence of Helen's trousers and knickers in the bag suggested that Simms had raped her before he killed her. 

Fibres from Simms's stair carpet were found on the back of Helen's coat, indicating she was dragged upstairs after being attacked, a theory supported by a pub worker who said she heard Simms dragging something upstairs the night of Helen's disappearance. A length of electrical flex found in the bag was matched to similar lengths in Simms's flat that he used to play with his two dogs, and tooth marks from one of the dogs and some of Helen's hairs were found on it. Finally, a man came forward to say that, on 10 February, he had discovered two bloodstained towels and several bloodstained items of clothing. The bloodstains were found to be Helen's, and the clothing was said by witnesses to belong to Simms, although he was inconsistent on this matter (denying they were his only to change his story when he was proven to be lying).

Police now thought they could piece together what happened; Simms had attacked Helen and dragged her into the pub, where he had knocked her out and dragged her upstairs. He had then raped her and strangled her to death, before placing the body in his car and disposing of it somewhere, likely dumping it in the river with Helen's clothes. Simms was charged with Helen's murder in spite of the absence of a body. 

Simms was convicted in 1989 and sentenced to life imprisonment with a 15-year minimum tariff. He continued to maintain his innocence and consistently refused to reveal the location of Helen's body. The McCourt family began a campaign in 2015 to introduce a law to ban the release of prisoners who refuse to reveal the location of their victim's body. The law, known as "Helen's Law", was eventually passed on 5 July 2019; however, before the law was passed a parole board recommended Simms for release. The British High Court rejected a bid by the McCourt family to keep Simms in prison since his release was approved before the law's passage, and Simms was released on licence in February 2020 after 31 years in prison. He later died of unknown causes in June 2022.
[[Category:List]]
[[Category:Male]]
[[Category:Modern Villains]]
[[Category:Deceased]]
[[Category:Imprisoned]]
[[Category:United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Murderer]]
[[Category:Rapists]]
[[Category:Perverts]]
[[Category:Wrathful]]
[[Category:Brutes]]
[[Category:Thugs]]
[[Category:Liars]]