Justice at last
More than three decades after losing her daughter, Marie McCourt has succeeded in her fight for a new law to help families of the ‘missing murdered’
My vibrant yellow T-shirt emblazoned with the words Helen’s Law means I’m easily spotted these days. This morning, while I was heading for my local Boots store, a woman gently touched my arm.
‘ Well done,’ she said, gesturing to my top. ‘ Your daughter would be so proud.’
It was Helen’s Brown Owl, from the Brownie pack she’d belonged to more than four decades ago. ‘Helen was such a nice kid,’ she continued. ‘Always laughing and doing what she was told!’
I smiled, remembering dropping an excited Helen off to her weekly meetings. ‘Helen loved her Brownies,’ I agreed.
After thanking her for her support, I waved goodbye with a spring in my step and a broad smile on my face.
It’s hard to put into words the impact that the past few weeks have had. Winning my battle for justice has left me the proudest mum in Britain.
Helen was just 22 when she was brutally murdered on her way home from work in February 1988. Sadly, her body has never been found.
The conviction of her killer, local pub landlord Ian Simms, one year later, was huge news. It was only the third murder conviction to be brought without a body since the Second World War, but
the forensic evidence against Simms was overwhelming.
As the prison gates slammed behind him, the world might have carried on turning but, for my family, time stood still. Without a funeral, we couldn’t move on.
I vowed to find Helen’s body and give her a proper burial. I couldn’t do anything to change her death but I could bring her home. Last year, I appeared in
best and described how I’d tried to do just that. For many years we searched for her, with spades and sniffer dogs.
I sought assurances from two Home Secretaries that Simms would never be released until he showed remorse and revealed where she was. I even wrote to Simms, begging him to reveal where we could find Helen. His reply was cold and threatening, promising revenge on his release.
In 2004, I was stunned to learn that Simms was eligible to apply for parole after all. Somehow, over time, the word ‘remorse’ had disappeared from parole requirements.
‘This is wrong,’ I raged.
Through my volunteer work, I’d met other families of missing murdered loved ones. Back in 1988, Helen’s case was rare, but over the years it was happening all too frequently, as killers resorted to increasingly desperate measures to foil forensic experts.
I heard of awful cases where the killers had been released, much to the horror of the victim’s loved ones. And others where the killers had gone to their graves, taking their secrets with them.
Seeing my own daughter’s
killer move through the justice system to less secure prisons, en route to his eventual release, spurred me into action.
In December 2015, I launched my campaign for Helen’s Law and couldn’t believe the support I received. In just two months I was on the steps of Downing Street, handing over my 300,000-strong petition. But it wasn’t that easy.
Over the next three years, my hopes were raised and dashed so many times. The second reading of my bill was adjourned once… twice… It then stalled completely when Theresa May called a snap general election in 2017. In May this year, Justice Secretary David Gauke had asked to meet me and my MP, Conor McGinn, for a second time to discuss my campaign.
‘He’s going to say no,’ I sighed to my husband, John. ‘ Why are we even bothering?’
I was still reeling from the newspaper images of Simms enjoying unescorted release from prison.
Walking into David Gauke’s office, I braced myself for disappointment. But, minutes later, I was looking at him in disbelief.
He going to introduce Helen’s Law, under which parole boards would be legally required to consider the killer’s refusal to disclose the location of their victim’s remains.
‘Before now, this was only a guideline,’ the Justice Secretary explained. ‘Now, it will be a legal requirement.’
I left the room walking on air. ‘I can’t believe it,’ I kept saying to John. ‘ We’ve done it.’
When the Ministry of Justice confirmed their decision, it made frontpage headlines, and the congratulatory messages from supporters are still pouring in.
The elation and relief I now feel is indescribable.
From the moment my daughter failed to arrive home, I was plunged into the most awful insomnia. How could I sleep while she was still out there somewhere?
I’d sit up watching documentaries on law and order, poring through legal papers, answering the Support After Murder And Manslaughter helpline (SAMM) for Merseyside.
But, since learning that Helen’s Law is going ahead, I’ve been sleeping six straight hours a night.
At 76, I’m able to smile more, look at old photos and reminisce about my beautiful daughter without always breaking down.
I wake up in the morning and go to bed at night knowing we’re that bit closer to seeing Helen’s Law become real.
There’s still a long way to go. Once drawn up, the law will face full parliamentary scrutiny and be debated in both the Commons and the Lords before, hopefully, being passed.
It will then receive Royal Assent and be added officially to the statute books. I’ve no idea how long it will take, but that day can’t come soon enough.
This law means some good will come from Helen’s tragic death. In future, killers will be more inclined to confess the whereabouts of their victims’ remains – and lessen the torment for grieving loved ones – knowing they’ll spend longer in prison if they don’t.
And future killers may be less inclined to hide the evidence of their terrible crimes. To lose a loved one to homicide is bad enough. Never to be able to lay that loved one to rest is tortuous.
Of course, I still want to give Helen the dignified funeral she deserves. There’s still a chance that could happen. The thought of Simms’s freedom being snatched away permanently might still persuade him to co-operate.
But to know that Helen has made a difference brings me an enormous sense of comfort. A legacy in her name means she’ll never be forgotten.
‘If there’s one thing I’ve learned’ ‘With the right support and encouragement, ordinary people can bring about extraordinary changes.’ ‘Some good will come from Helen’s tragic death’