Mother’s protest falls on deaf ears as ‘Monster of Worcester’ freed
A CHILD killer nicknamed the “Monster of Worcester” has been released after more than 40 years behind bars as the objections of his victims’ mother were dismissed by the Parole Board.
David Mcgreavy killed four-year-old Paul Ralph and his sisters Dawn, two, and Samantha, nine months, in April 1973 before impaling their bodies on garden railings.
He had been the family’s lodger at their home in Worcester at the time and was sentenced to life in prison after confessing to all three murders. Yesterday, it emerged the triple killer, one of Britain’s longest-serving inmates, had been released.
The 67-year-old first became eligible for parole in June 1993 – 20 years after his conviction – but was only cleared for release following a hearing with the Parole Board last November.
Officials were persuaded Mcgreavy had “changed considerably”, learning self-control and overcoming his personal issues, according to a summary of the decision.
However, Elsie Urry, the children’s mother, was angry at the news of his release, which had been passed on to her by victim support officers.
Through tears, she told the BBC: “They said he was going in for life and then changed it for [a minimum of] 20 years, but he hasn’t done 60 years.
“He took three lives, not just one or two – three. There are other prisoners that haven’t done half as bad as what he did to my children, and they haven’t been put up for parole, so what has made him able to get parole?”
Her three children were killed when Mcgreavy, then 21, was left to babysit them at the property on Gillam Street on April 13 1973.
Paul was strangled, Dawn had her throat cut and Samantha suffered a fatal skull fracture. Their bodies were left on the railings of the house next door in a scene so macabre it shocked the country and fuelled calls for Mcgreavy never to be released.
He was given a sentence of life imprisonment in July 1973, with a minimum term of 20 years subsequently notified by the then Home Secretary.
Ms Urry said yesterday: “He also took my life, really.”
The Parole Board said Mcgreavy would be released to a hostel with access to “intensive support and supervision”. He will be forced to observe exclusion zones to keep him away from his victims’ family and required to wear a GPS tag so his location can be tracked at all times.
A spokesman added: “Parole Board decisions are solely focused on whether a prisoner would represent a significant risk to the public after release.
“The panel will have carefully looked at a whole range of evidence, including details of the original evidence and any evidence of behaviour change.”