Leeds mother accused of murdering daughter, 3, appears in court
The court also heard a post-mortem examination of Hope will take place on 6 August. Judge Guy Kearl KC, the Recorder of Leeds, said forensic psychology reports would also be prepared to assess if Ms McGrath was fit to plead. She was remanded in custody until her next appearance. West Yorkshire Police said officers found Hope's body after they were called to the cul-de-sac following a report of a concern for safety.
Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
9 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Wife of Delphi killer who murdered two girls and ripped a small town apart claims her 'wonderful husband' is innocent in eerie first interview
The wife of Delphi killer Richard Allen has broken her silence to insist her husband of 34 years is a 'family man' and 'not the monster' who murdered two teenage best friends in a crime that ripped apart the small, tight-knit Indiana town. Kathy Allen spoke out for the first time since Allen's conviction for the February 2017 murders of Libby German, 14, and Abby Williams, 13, in the new ABC News Studios' series 'Capturing Their Killer: The Girls on the High Bridge'. 'My husband's not a monster. He's not the monster that people think he is,' she said in the series. 'He is a family man. Ricky is a wonderful, caring, compassionate father. Non-judgmental, very giving. He has good morals.' She said: 'How dare you accuse someone who is nothing but a people-pleaser and works out in the public. How dare you.' Allen was arrested and charged with the February 13, 2017, murders in October 2022 after a resurfaced tip and an unspent bullet tied him to the crime scene. He was convicted in November on two counts of murder and two counts of felony murder, before two of the counts were vacated under double jeopardy rules. Allen was sentenced to the maximum 130 years in prison. Months later, on July 18, Allen was moved out of state from the Pendleton Correctional Facility in Madison County, Indiana, to the Lexington Assessment and Reception Center in Cleveland County, Oklahoma. Allen continues to appeal the verdict. Libby German (left) and Abby Williams (right) set off on a walk along the Monon High Bridge trail in Delphi, Indiana, on February 13 2017 and never returned Despite his conviction - and dozens of jailhouse confessions prior to his trial - Kathy has stood by her husband. In the new series, she refused to believe he committed the shocking crimes and insisted the real killer or killers are still at large. 'I want true justice for Abby and Libby but it should not be at the expense of an innocent person, she said. 'These girls deserve justice. The right person or persons need to be found instead of just going with what you believe.' In the show, Kathy fawned over photos of her life with Allen from their prom pictures to wedding photos. 'Man he was a good-looking guy,' she gushed. 'I still is.' She and Allen went to school together but were introduced through her cousin. 'He was really cute and he had kind of long, wavy blonde hair, beautiful blue eyes,' she said. 'He was just really sweet. I hadn't met a guy like him before. Ricky and I always felt a connection.' The couple married as soon as they left high school and had a daughter, Brittany, in 1994. 'He was so excited about having a girl. He was a good daddy,' she said. The family moved to Delphi in 2006 in part, Kathy said, because they believed the town of around 3,000 residents was a good place to raise a child. Allen worked at the local CVS store in the heart of the community. Kathy remembers the day Abby and Libby went missing. The two best friends had set off on an afternoon walk on February 13 2017 along the Monon High Bridge. When they failed to return, a search was launched. Kathy told the series how Allen had the day off work that day and she had returned home to find him on the couch. They saw on the news that Libby and Abby were missing and Allen admitted to her that he had been on the trails that afternoon. He claimed he hadn't seen the girls, she said. The next day - Valentine's Day - searchers found Abby and Libby's bodies around half a mile from the trail, close to Deer Creek. Both of their throats had been cut, with the murder weapon believed to be a box cutter. Libby was naked while Abby was fully dressed in some of Libby's clothes. An unspent bullet was found between their bodies. In the moments before they died, Libby had captured a video on her cellphone of their killer following them over the rickety bridge. It captured the chilling voice of the man - who became known as 'Bridge Guy' - ordering the terrified girls: 'Guys... down the hill.' Libby's cellphone was found hidden beneath Abby's body, leading cops to find the footage and release a grainy photo of the killer. Kathy told the series that she thought the image could be anyone. 'The first time I saw the picture of bridge guy, it could've been anybody,' she said. Kathy encouraged her husband to tell police he was on the trails the day of the murders, and 'he was more than willing to help,' she said. After he met with an officer, 'we heard nothing,' she said. That information was lost for more than five years due to a clerical error, before investigators came across the tip in October 2022. A search executed at the Allen home uncovered a 'Bridge Guy starter kit' including blue jeans and a Carhartt jacket matching the outfit worn by 'Bridge Guy.' Investigators also found a Sig Sauer Model P226 pistol which Allen said only he had access to. Ballistics experts matched the gun to the bullet found between the two victims' bodies. While behind bars awaiting trial, Allen confessed to murdering the girls a staggering 61 times including in jailhouse phone calls to his wife and mom as well as in meetings with a prison psychologist. In one damning confession presented at trial, Allen revealed information that only the killer could have known. He said he had planned to take the girls into the woods to rape them but was startled by a white van driving past and so quickly killed them, jurors heard. The man in the white van testified he drove home from work at around 2.30pm that afternoon, to his property close to Deer Creek - a timeline that matched the time Libby's cellphone last recorded movement. The evidence about the van was not known until Allen offered up that information, prosecutors said. Allen's defense claimed his damning confessions were the result of a mental health crisis due to the 'prisoner of war' treatment he endured inside state prison. Instead, Allen's attorneys made the extraordinary accusation that Libby and Abby were murdered as part of a 'ritualistic sacrifice' by a local white nationalist cult called Odinists. As part of the shocking theory, Allen's defense pointed to sticks found on the victims' bodies, claiming they were arranged specifically into Pagan symbols. Jurors did not hear this theory at trial, as the judge blocked the defense from introducing the Odinism theory or from introducing any other alternative suspects. Speaking about the bombshell theory, Kathy said she believes the 'truth is going to come out'. 'You don't kill those girls the way you do and leave them that way without it meaning something,' she said. When her husband went on trial, she said she was hopeful that he would be acquitted. 'This was the first time in two years that we actually had some hope,' she said. 'I felt pretty positive that they were going to make the right decision because reasonable doubt was written all over this case.' When she heard the guilty verdict being read out, Kathy said she was in 'shock'. 'I wanted to stand here and scream for him,' she said. Since his trial, Allen's attorneys continue to file a string of legal objections and have appealed his conviction. Kathy said she is 'very hopeful' he will be freed on appeal. 'I've got everything ready for him to come home… I'm not giving up.' Allen is now in prison custody in Oklahoma. On July 29, Allen's attorneys filed a motion for a 30-day extension to appeal his conviction.
Daily Mail
11 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Egyptian asylum seeker dies trying to jump onto ship to Canada
A failed asylum seeker from Egypt drowned after he attempted to jump onto the ramp of a ship at Southampton docks in a bid to travel to Canada, an inquest has heard. Walid Gomaa, who was denied asylum status when he arrived in the UK in 2021, had told a friend he intended to travel across the Atlantic after living illegally in the UK for four years. The 36-year-old Egyptian national was spotted by members of the crew of the 200-metre MV Tannhauser attempting to board the vehicle-transporter ship which was due to sail to Halifax, Canada. Mr Gomaa was said to be trying to reach the ramp's finger-flaps - articulated extensions at the end of the vessel - as it was being raised ahead of sailing, the Winchester inquest was told. The operator paused the raising and saw Mr Gomaa walk away, but as they started lifting up the ramp again, the asylum seeker ran and jumped towards the ramp despite a crew member shouting at him to stop. Mr Gomaa then hit his head and fell into the sea at Empress Dock at the Queen Elizabeth II Terminal, where he drowned before a rescue boat could reach him on April 28 this year, the inquest heard. Coroner Jason Pegg said: 'Mr Gomaa attempted a second time, warnings were shouted to Mr Gomaa but he continued despite the warnings. 'Mr Gomaa jumped off the jetty towards the vessel. On this occasion Mr Gomaa was not able to grab hold of anything and fell towards the water between the jetty and the vessel itself.' The inquest heard a post-mortem examination found the cause of death was drowning, which resulted from a head injury and a fall into the water. Mr Pegg said a friend contacted police after Mr Gomaa had not been in contact and said Mr Gomaa had told him he planned to travel to Canada. The coroner said that when the friend asked how he was going to get there, Mr Gomaa replied: 'Do not worry about it.'
Telegraph
11 minutes ago
- Telegraph
HMRC plans new private school tax grab
The Government is preparing a fresh tax grab on private school parents after Britain's richest families paid hundreds of millions of pounds of fees early to avoid VAT. HMRC will target schools where families paid several years' school fees in advance ahead of the 20 per cent levy coming into force on Jan 1 2025, meaning the payments were not taxed. Officials believe they will be able to claim that flaws in some of the advance schemes will mean tax is due after all. It comes after The Telegraph revealed on Monday that there was a surge in pre-paid fees at the top 50 private schools last year, up to £515 million, up from £121 million in 2023. Government sources said that HMRC would now 'carefully scrutinise' pre-payments amid concerns that some schools may have abused them to avoid VAT. Internal Treasury communications obtained by The Telegraph show the Government expects lengthy legal battles between HMRC and private schools as a result. A briefing note sent by Treasury officials to the Chancellor's team last summer said that 'the more egregious the [prepayment] scheme, the more easily we would expect HMRC to be able to recoup the revenue'. Private schools were deluged with fee pre-payments last year after Labour confirmed in its election manifesto that it would charge VAT on fees for the first time.
