Mum’s outrage as triple child killer to go free
THE distraught mother of three murdered children yesterday accused the Parole Board of “betrayal” after it ordered the release of the man who butchered them.
The man once dubbed the Monster of Worcester, David McGreavy, slaughtered Paul Ralph, four, and his sisters Dawn, two, and nine-month-old Samantha in 1973 while he was babysitting for their mother Elsie Urry.
Paul was strangled, Dawn had her throat cut and Samantha died from a compound fracture to the skull.
In an act of sickening cruelty, McGreavy impaled the infants’ bodies on spiked iron railings near their home after he flew into a drunken rage because baby Samantha would not stop crying.
Suffer
Still-grieving Elsie, now 68, said: “What this animal did to my children was every bit as bad as what the Moors Murderers did. But Ian Brady and Myra Hindley never left prison before they died, so why the hell should he? He put my babies on spikes for God’s sake.
“He mutilated them and they died in agony. I wanted him dead and to suffer like they had but was reassured after his trial that his crime was so terrible he would never walk free. But despite begging them to keep him locked up, I have now finally been betrayed.”
McGreavy, who lodged with the family in Worcester, admitted three counts of murder and was jailed for life. Mr Justice Ashworth told the then 21-year-old unemployed labourer at the city’s crown court that he would serve at least 20 years in jail before being let out.
Now, 45 years after the crime, the Parole Board has cleared his release from custody despite receiving a personal statement from Ms Urry setting out the devastating effect the deaths had on her.
Officials said McGreavy, now 67, has “changed considerably” during his time behind bars. A Parole Board assessment said: “He has developed selfcontrol, as well as a considerable understanding of the problems that he has had and what caused them.
“The psychologist identified a number of factors which make it less likely that Mr McGreavy will re-offend in future. These included the fact that Mr McGreavy has learnt to remain calm in stressful situations.
“He has also been compliant and co-operative with authority.”
The Parole Board said: “Public safety is our number one priority.”
McGreavy was last pictured in public in 2005 when he was allowed out unescorted from Ford open prison in Hampshire.