Top witness in John George murder jailed after near-fatal knife attack

Sunday World

2 days ago

Dan McMeekin, who knew John George well, is now behind bars in Maghaberry Prison
Dan McMeekin, who was viciously stabbed in June in the Costa Blanca, returned quietly back into the country in the first few days of July — just days after he got out of hospital in Spain where he was recovering from an attempt on his life.
The 29-year-old is now behind bars in Maghaberry Prison after he handed himself over to the authorities and admitted a couple of outstanding theft charges and possession of drugs, dating back to September 2023.
McMeekin knew John George well and was in a bar in Spain where it's claimed a plan was hatched to attack the Belfast man who was later found murdered.
John George, a father of two, was shot and his body left in a rural area in the Alicante region around December 14 but it wasn't discovered for several weeks.
Supporters of John George and his family believe Dan McMeekin has information relevant to the investigation. However, he has never been arrested or charged with anything.
Dan McMeekin with Johnny Smyth.
News in 90 seconds - 11th August 2025
In January, Belfast lawyers acting for the family of John George named McMeekin as being one of two men who was due to appear in court in Spain — not as suspects but to tell the court what they knew about the lead-up to the murder.
It's not clear what McMeekin's return home means for the murder investigation or whether he will be required to return to Spain to give evidence in the event of a murder trial.
Czech national Michael Maly was arrested earlier this year and appeared in court as a murder suspect but was released on bail and has yet to be charged with any offence.
Meanwhile, Newtownabbey man Jonny Smyth (27) was arrested in Portugal, having gone on the run, before being extradited to Spain, where he has also been named as a suspect and held on remand in prison. He has not yet been charged with any offence.
After the attempt on McMeekin's life, speculation was rife that he may have been attacked by the criminal gang behind the murder of John George and the attack may have been a warning to him not to give evidence.
Spanish police told the media that McMeekin knew his attacker but refused to name him.
Dan McMeekin.
On June 30, a 58-year-old Irishman, who Spanish cops claimed had convictions for 'homicide' and drug dealing, was arrested by the Civil Guard for the attempted murder of McMeekin and was brought before a Spanish court.
Sources say McMeekin was in a 'terrible state' and came home to try and 'sort his life out'.
'Dan came home from Spain after the stabbing, which obviously really scared him,' said a source.
'When he left for Spain last year he was facing a couple of court cases and so he knew if he came back to Belfast he'd have to deal with that first.
'Dan's not a bad fella — he's a really sad case and you've seen the videos he made after the murder of John George where he's clearly feeling terrible about what happened.
'The pressure in Spain was getting too much — between almost being murdered and also the Spanish police were after him for a spate of break-ins where he was caught on CCTV several times.
'He wanted to come back and try and get his life back on track as he's still a young man. So he came home quietly at the start on July and he stayed with family in Lisburn and didn't leave the house pretty much for a couple of weeks.
'He then handed himself into the police a couple of weeks later and he was remanded into custody until he appeared in court to plead guilty to some shoplifting charges.
John George with Jonny Smyth
'He's in Maghaberry but he'll be out soon and hopefully he can get the help he needs to get off the drugs that ruined his life.'
A police spokesperson told the Sunday World: 'Police arrested a 29-year-old man in Lisburn on Friday 18th July for two outstanding bench warrants.
'He was subsequently transferred to court following his arrest and was remanded in prison. On 30th of July, he was sentenced to two months' imprisonment.'
And according to court documents, McMeekin appeared at Laganside Magistrates Court in Belfast where he pleaded guilty to two counts of theft and a third charge of being in possession of a Class C drug.
On the September 19 2023, he stole a bottle of Dior perfume to the value of £135 belonging to Boots, Donegall Place, Belfast.
On the same day he stole a Fred Perry hoodie to the value of £100 belonging to JD Sports in Castle Place, Belfast.
He was jailed for two months in total for the two theft charges.
But he was further convicted of unlawfully being in possession of a Class C drug, Pregabalin, on the same day as the shoplifting spree.
Jonny Smyth, the Belfast gym owner who has vanished in the aftermath of the murder of John George in the Costa del Sol.
McMeekin, who is known to be extremely vulnerable due to substance abuse issues, became a target of social media trolls and amateur investigators after the murder of John George.
He was identified as being someone who had crucial information about what happened to the Belfast man who went missing in the middle of December.
Dan had previously admitted online he should have contacted the family of John George before the 37-year-old was murdered.
Two weeks after John George's body was found, Belfast legal firm KRW Law said on January 31: 'We can confirm that summonses have issued for the attendance of two persons to answer enquiries in relation to the murder of Mr George. We have been in touch with the authorities in connection with this latest development.
'We understand that each person was originally due to appear at the designated Preliminary Court sitting in Torrevieja, Spain on Wednesday 29 January 2025 at 9.30am but are now expected to appear on Friday 31 January 2025 in the same court.
'We are advised the two specified persons are identified as Michael Maly and Daniel Anthony McMeekin.
'The family now face an anxious wait to learn what each individual has to say. They are calling upon them to take what they say is 'a final chance to come clean' on the lead-up to and the circumstances surrounding their son's murder before Christmas last year...'
McMeekin posted a video to his Facebook page back in January where he was visibly upset and appeared to be high on drugs or drink.
He was responding to wild speculation on social media and named one TikToker who he felt was not telling the truth about him and what he knew or didn't know about John George.
Slurring his words, he says: 'I am doing my best to help in so many ways... I am guilty — guilty of not telling the family sooner. I am vulnerable, this is breaking me, I have a heart, I do.
'The truth will be told, what I know is fact. It's been a hard time, I have helped. There's a lot of yous who don't know about the good I have done so stop going by social media and stop jumping to conclusions.
conclusions
'I know what the family is going through, please stop jumping to conclusions, I am helping.'
McMeekin has been in jail back home in Northern Ireland several times and was convicted of a number of nasty domestic abuse offences.
He was described as a drug addict during several appearances in various courtrooms where it emerged he had attacked the same partner a number of times and that the pair were both vulnerable and suffered from substance and alcohol abuse issues.
We can also reveal that McMeekin's images have been plastered all over social media in Spain where it's claimed he is a suspect in a number of burglaries.
Pictures appearing to show him inside business premises late at night were shared widely.
Those claiming he is a suspect have pointed to his very distinctive tattoo he has on his left hand which is clearly visible.