‘Killer caught 40yrs on by DNA sample’
A GIRL’S alleged killer avoided justice for 40 years while another man was jailed, a court heard.
Janet Commins, 15, was raped and choked to death in Flint, North Wales, in 1976. Noel Jones, then 18, was jailed for 12 years.
But Stephen Hough, 58, was held last year after he gave a DNA sample, in circumstances the prosecution said were of no significance to this case, and it matched the killer’s.
Mark Heywood, prosecuting, said police grilled Jones and he confessed to rape and manslaughter.
Mr Heywood said: “He asserts he only confessed due to the pressure he felt.”
Hough, of Flint, denies rape, murder and serious sexual assault.
The trial at Mold crown court continues.