04/08/2006
Harron killer gets life sentence
The man who abducted and murdered Strabane pensioner Attracta Harron as she made her way home from Mass in December 2003, has today been told that he is to spend the rest of his life in prison.
Trevor Hamilton, 23, and from Concess Road in Sion Mills, today received the highest prison sentence ever to be imposed by a Northern Ireland court, with no recommended minimum tariff.
The trial judge, Mr Justice McLaughlin, today told Dungannon Crown Court that the case was made up of "the stuff of nightmares," as he passed the sentence of live imprisonment.
Hamilton was convicted in April this year for the murder.
Attracta Harron, 65, disappeared in December 2003, after attending Mass in Lifford, County Donegal.
It is understood that Hamilton lured the mother of five into his car, where he subsequently took her to his home and battered her to death, with what is believed to have been an axe or a hatchet.
After continuous searches, her body was eventually found four months later in a makeshift grave in a riverbank bordering Hamilton's home.
Her body was so badly decomposed that it was impossible to establish if she had been sexually assaulted, however a prosecution lawyer said considering his previous convictions, no other conclusion could be reached.
At the time of the murder, Hamilton had just completed a sentence and was on parole after raping a woman in his home village three years earlier.
(EF)
Trevor Hamilton, 23, and from Concess Road in Sion Mills, today received the highest prison sentence ever to be imposed by a Northern Ireland court, with no recommended minimum tariff.
The trial judge, Mr Justice McLaughlin, today told Dungannon Crown Court that the case was made up of "the stuff of nightmares," as he passed the sentence of live imprisonment.
Hamilton was convicted in April this year for the murder.
Attracta Harron, 65, disappeared in December 2003, after attending Mass in Lifford, County Donegal.
It is understood that Hamilton lured the mother of five into his car, where he subsequently took her to his home and battered her to death, with what is believed to have been an axe or a hatchet.
After continuous searches, her body was eventually found four months later in a makeshift grave in a riverbank bordering Hamilton's home.
Her body was so badly decomposed that it was impossible to establish if she had been sexually assaulted, however a prosecution lawyer said considering his previous convictions, no other conclusion could be reached.
At the time of the murder, Hamilton had just completed a sentence and was on parole after raping a woman in his home village three years earlier.
(EF)
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12 April 2006
Rapist receives life sentence for murder of Attracta Harron
The jury in the case of murdered Strabane woman Attracta Harron have today found a 23-year-old, County Tyrone man guilty of her murder. Trevor William Hamilton, from Concess Road in Sion Mills appeared at Dungannon Crown Court, accused of killing the mother of five and concealing her body in a makeshift grave near his home.
Rapist receives life sentence for murder of Attracta Harron
The jury in the case of murdered Strabane woman Attracta Harron have today found a 23-year-old, County Tyrone man guilty of her murder. Trevor William Hamilton, from Concess Road in Sion Mills appeared at Dungannon Crown Court, accused of killing the mother of five and concealing her body in a makeshift grave near his home.
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Evidence To Be Reviewed As Attracta's Killer Appeals
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Northern Ireland WeatherToday:It will be cloudy again throughout the day. Mainly dry in the morning, but patchy drizzle in places, becoming more widespread and persistent in the afternoon. Freshening southwesterly winds. Maximum temperature 12 °C.Tonight:Cloudy with a spell of heavy rain pushing south through late evening and the early hours, followed by some clear spells. Minimum temperature 6 °C.