Moment mother of murdered Julie Hogg breaks down in tears in Channel 5 documentary as she recalls ‘double jeopardy’ law change that allowed her daughter’s killer to be convicted in 2006 – 15 years after he was found not guilty

• Ann Ming, now in her late 70s, would not rest until she got justice
• Julie Hogg was murdered by Billy Dunlop at her home in Teeside in 1989 

She is the mother whose defiant crusade upturned 800 years of British legal history.

Ann Ming, now in her late 70s, would not rest until she got justice for her daughter Julie Hogg, who was murdered in 1989.

She successfully campaigned to get the double jeopardy law – which ruled that a suspect could not be tried twice for the same offence – struck down.

Her daughter’s killer, Billy Dunlop, strangled and then sexually mutilated Julie, before hiding her body under the bath in her own house. 

He was found not guilty at trial in 1991, but then subsequently confessed to the killing. It was not until 2006 that he was finally convicted of the crime. 

The case is explored in tonight’s episode of Channel 5 series The Incident Room. 

A moving scene shows Ms Ming break down as she recalls the moment that the law change came into effect in 2005. 

After re-watching news footage of the reaction of her and her husband Charlie when the law was changed, she says: ‘It was a good day, that, I’ll tell you that. I was speechless for I think the first time there.’

Julie Hogg was murdered by Billy Dunlop in 1989. Her body was hidden under her bath

Back in 2005, she had prophetically said: ‘Hopefully by the 17th anniversary of Julie’s death, we will finally have Billy Dunlop convicted of her murder.’

Dunlop ultimately pleaded guilty to the killing at his second trial. He had initially been acquitted after claiming that evidence against him had been planted.

Nine years after Julie’s murder, in 1997, Dunlop stabbed his ex-girlfriend with a carving fork and beat up her lover. 

He was sentenced to seven years in prison for grievous bodily harm.

While in prison, the killer bragged to a guard that he had murdered Julie but would never be able to go to prison for it because of the double jeopardy law. 

With the help of Brian Mckenzie, a leading police officer, Ms Ming began campaigning, determined to change the law and see her daughter’s killer face justice. 

The case is explored in tonight’s episode of Channel 5 series The Incident Room. Julie’s mother Ann Ming, now in her late 70s, is seen breaking down in tears as she recalls the law change that allowed Dunlop to be convicted

Billy Dunlop, sexually assaulted and then murdered Julie. He was acquitted of her muder in 1991 but then successfully convicted in 2006

Julie went missing from her home in Billingham, County Durham, in November 1989.

Police searched her house but did not find anything. It was Ms Ming who found her daughter’s decomposing body in February 1990.

The courageous mother, who had 20 years experience as a nurse, had initially been told by her son-in-law about a terrible smell coming from the bathroom.

 Noticing that a bath panel was loose, she prised it open just enough to see inside, revealing the horrifying sight of her daughter’s naked body. 

Julie was working as a pizza delivery driver at the time of her death. The mother-of-one was separated from her husband but still very close to her family. 

On the night of her killing, Dunlop – who had once had a sexual encounter with Julie – turned up at her home.

When Julie refused to let him in, he forced his way into the house and attacked her. 

After mutilating her, he wrapped her body in a blanket and then stuffed it under the bath.  

Police sent a forensics team to search the house, but they did not check under the bath. 

Ms Ming told the Mail in an interview in 2000 that the officer in charge of the case had guaranteed that ‘nothing had happened to her in the house. 

After finding her daughter’s remains, Ms Ming ran out of the house screaming. Ms Ming went on to make a formal complaint to police and was given £10,000 in an out-of-court settlement. 

Julie’s keys were found to have Dunlop’s finger prints on them, and hairs from his head were found on her body. 

DNA tests also linked him with the semen stains on the blanket that he used to wrap up Julie’s body. 

Ann Ming is seen at her home near Stockton-on-Tees in January this year

Julie Hogg in 1984. Her mother finally got justice after a years-long campaign to change the law

Julie Hogg with her father Charlie on her wedding day in August 1985

The house in Grange Avenue, Billingham, Teesside, where Julie Hogg was murdered by Billy Dunlop

At Dunlop’s first trial, the jury was unable to reach a verdict. A second trial was ordered and the new jury again failed to come up with either a unanimous or majority verdict, so Dunlop was acquitted. 

When in prison for the attack on his ex-girlfriend, 60 hours of conversations were recorded in which Dunlop detailed his murder of Julie to a female prison officer who had befriended him. 

Dunlop then repeated his admissions to police, who charged him with committing perjury at both of his murder trials. 

Dunlop was given six years for the two perjury offences, leaving Ms Ming distraught. 

Ms Ming continued campaigning and was eventually successful. The 2003 Criminal Justice Act abolished the double jeopardy rule for serious offences. It came into force in 2005. 

Dunlop became the first person to be tried twice for the same crime. He was jailed in October 2006.

In 2022, Dunlop was refused permission by the Ministry of Justice to move to an open prison. He became eligible for parole last month. 

Since Ms Ming’s campaign, the law change has enabled more than a dozen convictions, including of the killers of black teenager Stephen Lawrence.  

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