For years, brutal killer Billy Dunlop thought he had gotten away with murder.
The former labourer had twice walked free after two juries could not decide whether he had murdered Julie Hogg, a pizza delivery driver from Billingham, in 1989.
But he had killed the beloved 22-year-old - and he knew it.
There was something standing in the way of justice: the 800-year-old double jeopardy law, which meant he could not be tried twice for the same offence.
And when was jailed for a separate offence, he laughed at the legal system by telling a prison officer that he had indeed killed Julie and that nobody could do anything about it.
At the time, he was right. He could not be punished.
He was charged with perjury and jailed for a further six years, but nothing could be done about getting justice for Julie’s murder. Or so he thought.
What Dunlop clearly did not anticipate was the desperate fight of a grief-stricken mother, who spent a staggering 17 years tirelessly campaigning to overturn the law.
Ann, backed by The Northern Echo, a committee of MPs, and even the parents of murdered black teenager Stephen Lawrence, went on to do the unthinkable.
She fought the law, and won.
The double jeopardy rule was officially overturned in 2005 - and 20 years ago today (September 11), Dunlop finally admitted that he did murder Julie at The Old Bailey in London.
Justice had finally prevailed.
Julie’s murder - and her mum’s fight in her name
Julie vanished from her home on November 16, 1989, and her disappearance was initially treated as a missing persons investigation.
Crime scene investigators searched the home from top to bottom but found nothing, and it was three months since her last sighting that Ann was allowed back into her daughter's home.
While there, she made a tragic discovery that no mother should have to bear: her daughter’s body, stuffed behind a bath panel.
Dunlop went on to face two trials in 1991 for her murder, but each time a jury failed to reach a verdict and he was formally acquitted.
Thinking he was untouchable, he then went on to confess to a prison officer that he did in fact kill the 22-year-old while in jail for a separate offence.
The fact he had admitted the murder but was getting away with it due to the double jeopardy law is what prompted The Northern Echo’s determination to help Ann in her battle.
She launched her Justice for Julie campaign with the aim of overturning the double jeopardy law to stop Dunlop “making a mockery of the justice system”.
Armed with a petition signed by hundreds of Echo readers, Ann and her husband Charlie went to London in 2000 to meet then Home Secretary Jack Straw to demand change.
The campaign was also backed by the parents of Stephen Lawrence and Maureen Harvey, whose son, Lee, was stabbed to death by his girlfriend, Tracie Andrews, and MPs.
In July 2002, the then-Home Secretary David Blunkett announced a White Paper which revealed plans to abandon the double jeopardy rule.
The 2003 Criminal Justice Act introduced the change, permitting a second trial if compelling evidence became available indicating guilt.
Dunlop's boasting confession to a prison officer proved to be the compelling evidence that would lead to his downfall and his life sentence.
And, on this day 20 years ago when he finally admitted the murder, cheers rang out around the Northern Echo newsroom.
Dunlop has been in jail ever since.
He has had several parole hearings in recent years, and at a hearing in December 2024, he accepted he was unfit for release and asked to be moved to an open prison.
The parole board recommended this - but then-Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood blocked the transfer. He is due to once again have a public parole hearing on Wednesday, October 21.
Ann’s inspirational story reached an entirely new audience last year when the four-part drama I Fought the Law was aired on ITV.
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The show, based on Ann's book For The Love of Julie and filmed across the North East, saw Sheridan Smith take on the role of Ann and explored the events after the disappearance and murder of her daughter.
The show was met with widespread acclaim and was nominated for limited drama and leading actress at the 2026 BAFTA TV Awards.
It also picked up three prizes at the Royal Television Society North East and the Borders annual TV Awards, with Sheridan winning best performance, and this week won new drama at the National Television Awards.
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