Gary Allen, the man handed a life sentence for the murders of two female sex workers 21 years apart, has had appeals against his conviction and sentencing dismissed by the courts.
Allen, 48, was jailed in 2021 for the murders of Samantha Class, 29, in Hull in 1997 and Alena Grlakova, 38, in Rotherham in 2018. Both women were found beaten in stretches of water, Samantha on the banks of the Humber Estuary, and Alena in a stream in Rotherham.
His two murders were 21 years and one court trial apart, having previously been acquitted during a jury trial in 2000 that investigated the death of Samantha Class.
Samantha Class (left) and Alena Grlakova (right) were murdered 21 years apart. | Photos: Humberside & South Yorkshire Police
Humberside Police officers spoke to 6,806 people, took 3,500 statements and followed 7,214 lines of enquiry in the Class case, and despite the meticulous investigation, Allen was acquitted by a jury in February 2000.
However, an undercover operation between 2010 and 2012 prompted a confession from Allen to be caught on tape, and the acquittal was overturned at the Court of Appeal once evidence was brought to light.
Allen then faced trial again, this time with an additional murder charge following the death of Alena Grlakova in 2018. It was stated Gary Allen had paid her for sex, and her naked body was found in a stream in Rotherham in April 2019.
Both Alena and Samantha were sex workers, and the court heard of Allen’s disdain and hatred for the occupation, describing them as “scum” and “lowest of the low”.
He also told a probation officer women were ‘easy targets’ because they are ‘physically weaker’ than men.
Gary Allen’s eventual conviction made the case the first ever double jeopardy murder in Humberside Police’s history, with the force finally getting their man some 20 years on.
However, an appeal hearing was called after Allen contested both the conviction and sentencing, with his barrister accusing the judge of misleading jurors and encouraging them to dismiss defence witnesses.
It was suggested by his defence there was no evidence of the killings being planned or pre-meditated, but the appeal fell on deaf ears, as the judge did not accept the arguments and stated the trial judge was fair and “faithful”.
Gary Allen will still face a life sentence with a minimum term of 37 years for his actions.
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Nominations are open for schools and education settings to be recognised in the 2022 Lincolnshire Education Excellence Awards.
The event is organised by Stonebow Media, publishers of The Lincolnite, to celebrate the best school and teachers in Greater Lincolnshire.
The headline sponsors making the awards possible are Lincoln College Group.
Twelve categories are now open for nominations. The deadline for nominations is June 3, with a judging lunch scheduled for June 7.
Nominations are open from parents, carers, friends, families or education settings themselves, so if you know someone who deserving of winning now is the time to vote!
The awards ceremony will be held at the Engine Shed on July 7.
It’s been a week since the controversial statue of Margaret Thatcher was installed in Grantham’s St Peter’s Hill.
The £300,000 bronze monument immediately caused a stir and debate from both supporters and opponents of the first female Prime Minister of the UK.
Within hours of its 7am installation last Sunday, it had already been egged by a man later revealed to be 59-year-old Jeremy Webster, a deputy director at the Attenborough Arts Centre at the University of Leicester.
Mr Webster’s mother-in-law recently described his actions as “childish”.
Quoted in the MailOnline she said: “Margaret Thatcher lasted a long time in power. She was a trailblazer as the first woman prime minister and she had such energy, even though I know she slept very little.
“I’m very surprised to hear about all of this [egg throwing]. I’m going to have to call my daughter. I wouldn’t have thought Jeremy would be the sort of person to do this. It seems very childish to me – he has a responsible job.”
There have been reports of other antisocial behaviour taking place including people urinating up the statue, but investigations into these are yet to be confirmed by officials.
Away from the statue itself, others took to social media to react to the new monument.
Twitterer @BolsoverBeast thought Mr Webster’s actions should be expanded as a way to… get more people involved?
I think it would be a good idea to put Thatcher’s statue on a low loader and tow it slowly around the country so that we all have a chance to throw something at it. pic.twitter.com/uftMqr0LgR
— Chloe Schlosberg (@ChloeSchlosberg) May 19, 2022
Some called back to the fate of other statues
@Irritatedllama called back to the fate of slave trader Edward Colston who was thrown into the Bristol Harby in June 2020.
It's absolutely disgraceful that people are throwing eggs at the Margaret Thatcher statue in Grantham! We need to deploy a taskforce to give it jolly good wash!#Granthampic.twitter.com/RKftKUls4u
It wasn’t long before a parody account of the statue was set up on Twitter – nor before “she” was interacting with other parody accounts.
It was awful. I could see almost all of Grantham
— That Statue of Thatcher (@thatcher_statue) May 18, 2022
A… positive view?
There were supporters of the statue, however, Darren Grimes from GBNews was one of the few popular posts calling on people not to “give in to threats of petty vandalism”. He later posted the statue should be in parliament – where it was previously rejected from.
I honestly think Margaret Thatcher would have found this first round of petty vandalism of her statue to be utterly hilarious.
The statue looks absolutely glorious.
Almost a decade on from her passing, she’s still winding them up!
Some, like @Jonnyhibberd were more measured in their response.
I don't see a problem with a Thatcher statue and I also don't see a problem with people throwing eggs at it. Thatcher is an important part of our history, and so is what a lot of people thought about her.
— Jonathan Hibberd 🇺🇦 (@Jonnyhibberd) May 18, 2022
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