John Gogarty murder: 'Missed opportunities' to prevent death

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-48068582

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A coroner has ruled there were "missed opportunities" to prevent the murder of a man by a convicted killer after his release from prison on licence.

John Gogarty, 65, was stabbed 69 times at his home in Wombwell, Barnsley, in 2015 by Ian Birley and Helen Nichols.

An inquest heard Birley breached his licence conditions a number of times in 2014 but was not recalled to prison.

Senior Coroner Chris Dorries said the Probation Service had "missed [the] opportunity to take action".

Birley and his partner Nichols killed Mr Gogarty in July 2015 in order to steal £500 to settle a drug debt.

Birley had been released from prison 18 months earlier after serving 18 years for murdering another pensioner, Maurice Hoyle, in 1995.

The inquest heard that, following his release, Birley breached his licence conditions in May 2014.

He twice tested positive for methadone, refused to provide a urine sample and failed to attend a drug agency.

Mr Dorries said he had heard a range of opinions about whether Birley should have been recalled to prison in the light of these breaches.

"Returning Offender One (Birley) into custody would not have been an absolute guarantee against the harm that eventually befell Mr Gogarty," he said.

"It is possible that the offender would have been paroled again and that, sooner or later, he would have considered an attack upon Mr Gogarty as a source of funding for any drug debt that he accrued.

"But I consider it plain at least that Mr Gogarty would not have died when he did if Offender One had been recalled to prison."

Birley was given a whole-life jail sentence at Sheffield Crown Court in 2015 for murdering Mr Gogarty, while Nichols was given a minimum 20-year term.

Speaking after the inquest Mr Gogarty's daughter, Nicola, who had campaigned for the inquest to take place, said: "I'm very happy with what the coroner said. I believe my dad should still be here and I believe if things were done correctly he would still be here."