Distraught family of Bolton teen strangled in Australia slam decision to FREE 'monster' murderer
11.04.2022 - 09:29
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
The distraught family of a teenager who was strangled in Australia have blasted a decision to release her murderer, calling him a 'monster'. Rebecca Ryle was 19 when she was killed by evil James Duggan in 2004 after her family emigrated to Australia from Harwood, Bolton.
It's now been revealed Duggan, who had also emigrated from the UK, was released from prison on March 11 this year - almost 18 years on - and is due to be deported back to the UK. Rebecca's brother said he found it 'horrific' the British public would now be 'subjected to him' and that he's been allowed to 'start afresh', adding: "He doesn't deserve the opportunity to start again. He stole a life."
Duggan, who hailed from Liverpool, was convicted in 2006 of murdering Rebecca, a former pupil of Turton High School in Bolton, after meeting her at a pub in Perth, Australia, that night when he was 20, reports The Liverpool Echo.
He offered to walk Rebecca home on May 5, 2004, then strangled her for more than three minutes in the grounds of a primary school just metres away from her home. Duggan, now in his 30s, left his victim's half-naked body in a field which was found by police a few hours later.
During the court case at Western Australian Supreme Court, Justice Lindy Jenkins described the crime as 'bizarre' when she jailed him for a minimum of 11 years and six months. Justice Jenkins said the murder was every parent's worst nightmare, adding Rebecca had died 'alone and degraded'. Duggan, she said, never fully explained why he killed her.
A parole board in Australia reviewed Duggan's case on November 19, 2019 and the Attorney General decided not to release him due to his behaviour in prison, a return to substance abuse and offending.
He said: "Given the