The son of a young mum murdered by “evil” Billy Dunlop has told a parole board how the killer “robbed him of his childhood”.
Kevin Hogg, who was just three-years-old when Dunlop killed his mum Julie Hogg in Billingham in 1989, said he is still plagued by flashbacks and has “lost the ability to experience joy”.
The now-40-year-old said time “isn’t the great healer it is reputed to be” and that he will “never get over the loss” of his mum, calling on the parole board to block Dunlop’s bid for freedom.
He was the first person in the country to be charged twice with the same offence after Julie’s mother Ann Ming’s tireless 17-year fight to overturn the 800-year-old double jeopardy law.
Kevin told the parole hearing in London today how he has lost “so much to this crime and [Dunlop’s] evil actions” and the anguish he has caused “simply cannot be measured”.
He also questioned why Dunlop should have regular parole hearings, branding them “traumatic” for the family, who have to live a “life sentence” themselves.
“It is impossible to measure the impact that this crime has had on my life,” he said.
Kevin heartbreakingly recalled being at the bottom of the stairs in his family home when his mum’s body was tragically found stuffed behind a bath panel by Ann.
He said he was initially told his mum had slipped in the bath and died - but at 13-years-old he was finally told that she had in fact been murdered.
“This had thrown my life into utter turmoil and received counselling for several years,” he said.
He said he had horrifying flashbacks of “screaming and shouting” when his mother’s body was found, and recalled how he had to grow up in a world where she missed attending his sports days, parents evenings, birthdays, and the birth of his son in 2009.
He said: “I can say I will never get over the loss of my mother, but I learn to accept that she will never be a part of my life ever again.”
Kevin said he not only felt that he was robbed of his mum but of his childhood, spending years alongside his grandmother Ann fighting to overturn the double jeopardy law.
Ann, who was backed by the Echo in her campaign, spent years fighting to overturn the law after Dunlop was tried twice for the murder of Julie but was acquitted.
He then went on to laugh at the justice system when he boasted to a prison officer that he had killed Julie while in jail for another offence, and was later done for perjury.
Dunlop was finally jailed in 2006 for life with a minimum term of 15 years.
Despite this being 20 years ago just last month, Kevin said his mental health still suffers as a result and that he does not get more than four hours of sleep every night.
He argued Dunlop has not spent long enough behind bars: “This offender uses whatever means are available to avoid and thwart natural justice.
“Dunlop could have prevented all of this by making a phone call to the police anonymously stating where my mother’s body was.
“Instead, he chose not to and just sit and watch all the comings and goings along with the traumatic heartbreak all my family was experiencing because of him.”
If Dunlop was to be released, Kevin said he fears he would “constantly be on edge, wondering what he is doing, and is he likely to come near me or my family”.
Dunlop ‘no longer the violent person he was once’
Dunlop, who appeared on a video link from an undisclosed prison wearing a light blue shirt, told the hearing today that he was “not interested in hurting anyone".
He said he “cringes” at how “selfish” he once was and has done a “lot of reflecting” following the sudden death of his son last year.
Dunlop told the parole board that he actually felt “euphoric” after murdering Julie but soon after felt panic - and did “not think about the effect” it would have on her family.
"It was all about me. I didn't think about them and the effect I would have on them,” he said.
He said he wanted Julie’s family to "just be able to get on with their life" but understands that they are "not going to feel that if I am released".
Dunlop, who the parole board recommended be moved to an open prison at the last parole hearing before the decision was blocked by the Government, argues he is no longer a risk.
"There is a lot of evidence over a number of years that shows I have not gone back to that way of thinking," he said.
"I am just not interested in hurting anybody else. With the death of [my son], it has taken the fight out of me."
Read more:
Killer Billy Dunlop says he felt 'euphoric' after murder but has 'turned life around'
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The hearing heard how, if he was to be released, he would be subject to a string of conditions including a lie detector test, 12 months in a specialist hostel, tagging, and a curfew.
His prison offender manager (POM), a prison psychologist, and an independent psychologist all recommended him for release.
The POM said she had seen “real change” in Dunlop while the prison instructed psychologist said he has shown empathy to others and had a “robust” release plan.
The hearing continues tomorrow.
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