Man appeals conviction for teen’s killing
AMAN who went to jail over the death of a schoolgirl before her actual killer was jailed four decades later is to appeal against his manslaughter conviction.
Noel Jones was just a teenager when he admitted killing 15-year-old Janet Commins and he served six years of a 12-year jail sentence for manslaughter.
But after Miss Commins’ actual killer Stephen Hough was jailed in July, having been caught using DNA evidence, 59-year-old Mr Jones has now confirmed he intends to appeal.
During ex-soldier Hough’s trial at Mold Crown Court Mr Jones retracted his conviction over the 1976 killing, telling the jury he was pressured into signing a false confession and was shown statements by the police that he couldn’t read properly.
He said during his evidence that as a young teenage “gypsy” he “fitted the bill” for police investigating the Flintshire schoolgirl’s death and was made a “scapegoat”.
In a statement issued yesterday Mr Jones said: “In July 2017 Stephen Hough was convicted and sentenced for the killing of Janet Commins.
“I was originally charged with the murder of Miss Commins in 1976. The confession I gave during that investigation was false and only given under pressure.
“During the original trial for murder, when offered a chance to plead guilty to manslaughter I felt I had no option but to take that plea, due to the false confession I had made, even though I knew I was completely innocent – I was only 18 years old at the time.
“I was sentenced to 12 years in custody, of which I served six years.
“When new DNA techniques enabled the crown to match DNA on Miss Commins to Stephen Hough, and completely exclude me from any forensic findings, I was asked by the police to provide a statement to assist them in the prosecution of Stephen Hough. I then gave evidence for the prosecution during the trial.
“I was relieved when justice was finally done upon the conviction of Stephen Hough. I would like to publicly express my condolences to the family of Miss Commins and was very moved that at the sentence hearing of Stephen Hough they gave some kind words of sympathy and support for me.
“Further I would like to thank many other people who have sent kind and supportive words in relation to what happened to me over 40 years ago.
“Now the trial is over I have instructed my solicitors, Humphrys Dawson, to pursue an appeal against my conviction. The initial steps relating to that procedure have already been taken.”
Miss Commins’ body was found near Gwynedd School in Flint on January 11, 1976, days after she went missing. She had been raped and strangled.
Twice-married Hough, 58 and from Flint, was last month convicted by a jury of rape, serious sexual assault, and the manslaughter of Miss Commins following a three-week trial.
The former soldier and long-distance lorry driver, who was cleared of the alternative charge of murder, was jailed for a total of 12 years following the trial.
He was also subsequently jailed for a further three years after admitting the sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl last year.