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04/09/2018
Convicted Child Killer John Clifford 'Unlawfully At Large'
Convicted child killer John Clifford is unlawfully at large, after he failed to return to a Maghaberry Prison facility.
The 56-year-old, who uses a mobility scooter, was granted day release from Burren House on the Crumlin Road – a satellite facility of Maghaberry Prison – to attend an appointment on Sunday, 02 September, but failed to return as expected.
How Clifford managed to not return to the prison is being investigated while police and prison officers continue to search for him.
In 1988 Clifford was babysitting his eight-year-old niece, Sue Ellen Clifford, when he forced her to leave her home on the Rathcoole estate with him. He walked with her along the old Belfast to Carrickfergus railway line. Clifford then raped and strangled the child and left her body on the disused railway line.
He was convicted of murder and a number of other offences in 1989. He had previously been released in 2005, but was returned to prison two years later for breaching the terms of his probation.
Clifford is described as being around 5ft 7ins tall and of medium build, with a fresh complexion, green eyes and fair hair.
When last seen, he was wearing a black beanie-style hat, a heavy black coat, grey trousers and black dress shoes.
He uses a distinctive three-wheel mobility scooter with the registration EXZ 4974.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of John Clifford is urged to contact police on 101.
(MH/CM)
The 56-year-old, who uses a mobility scooter, was granted day release from Burren House on the Crumlin Road – a satellite facility of Maghaberry Prison – to attend an appointment on Sunday, 02 September, but failed to return as expected.
How Clifford managed to not return to the prison is being investigated while police and prison officers continue to search for him.
In 1988 Clifford was babysitting his eight-year-old niece, Sue Ellen Clifford, when he forced her to leave her home on the Rathcoole estate with him. He walked with her along the old Belfast to Carrickfergus railway line. Clifford then raped and strangled the child and left her body on the disused railway line.
He was convicted of murder and a number of other offences in 1989. He had previously been released in 2005, but was returned to prison two years later for breaching the terms of his probation.
Clifford is described as being around 5ft 7ins tall and of medium build, with a fresh complexion, green eyes and fair hair.
When last seen, he was wearing a black beanie-style hat, a heavy black coat, grey trousers and black dress shoes.
He uses a distinctive three-wheel mobility scooter with the registration EXZ 4974.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of John Clifford is urged to contact police on 101.
(MH/CM)
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