Triple Child Killer Dubbed ‘Monster of Worcester’ Released from Prison

Stock photo of a police car. (Shutterstock)

A convicted killer dubbed the “Monster of Worcester” after murdering three young children decades ago has now been released from prison.

David McGreavy brutally murdered Elsie Urry’s children, Paul Ralph, 4, Dawn, 2, and 9-month-old Samantha in 1973 and left their bodies on iron railings.

Urry told the BBC she was notified of her children’s killer’s release by Victim Support on Tuesday, June 11. The Daily Mail cited the heartbroken woman as saying, “Also he took my life really.”

She said she had been consulted on the conditions of McGreavy’s release, according to the report, with her input leading to an extension of the exclusion zones the convicted killer is required to stay away from.

“It gives me a bit of peace of mind but it is still not fair he has been released after what he has done,” she told the BBC.

McGreavy was 21 and lodging with the family at their home in Worcester, United Kingdom, at the time of the murders. One of the children had been strangled, another was found with her throat cut, and a third died from a fractured skull. He claimed he killed the children because one of them would not stop crying.

McGreavy was sentenced to life behind bars for the brutal slayings.

Urry told the BBC: “They said he was going in for life and then they changed it for [a minimum of] 20 years, but he hasn’t done 60 years. He took three lives, not just one or two; three.”

The prospect of McGreavy’s release has been discussed for at least 10 years and a previous appeal was denied in 2016.

But in December it was revealed a parole board report said McGreavy had “changed considerably” over 45 years in jail.

An online petition was launched calling on British authorities to keep McGreavy behind bars.

“Triple child killer David McGreavy, who killed the three children aged between 9 months and 4 years, before impaling their bodies on railings, has been paroled from prison,” wrote James Cunningham, initiator of the petition. “The three person parole board has stated that he is ‘no longer a significant risk.’ This evil man should never be released from prison.”

“David McGreavy’s crimes are a horror beyond all measure!” wrote petition signatory Susan Stuermer. “He should never again know freedom. At minimum, the children’s mother should not have to lie in bed one single night knowing that the monster that brutalized her babies, robbed her of motherhood, and forever stole her sense of safety in the world is walking free. To release David McGreavy is a crime against humanity and all that is good in the world!”

Conservative MP for Worcester Robin Walker, who has vocally opposed McGreavy’s release, was cited by the BBC as saying, “Frankly, I don’t think someone who carried out such crimes should ever be let out.”

A parole board document about McGreavy’s case was released after a hearing in November 2018, according to the Evening Standard. It stated: “He has developed self-control, as well as a considerable understanding of the problems that he has had and what caused them.

“The psychologist identified a number of factors which make it less likely that Mr. McGreavy will re-offend in future.

“These included his improved self-control and the fact that Mr. McGreavy has learnt to remain calm in stressful situations.

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“He has also shown himself to be compliant and cooperative with authority, which suggests that he will comply with licence conditions.

“A network of supportive friends in the community was also identified as a protective factor.”

On the petition page, Cunningham urged: “Do not release this man. He should spend the remainder of his life in prison.”

The Daily Mail’s Facebook post reporting on McGreavy’s release sparked a flurry of critical comments.

Jemma Louise Lewis commented, “How anyone could possibly say he’s safe to be out in public around other children is messed up.”

Maria Annette Hurley wrote: “He will always be a vile monster, not a danger to society who are they trying to fool, it’s one thing killing a child that is bad enough but killing all 3 and the way he killed each one, and then to put them on a neighbours fence for display, that is not human, you can’t call him an animal because no animal would do that, he is just pure evil and will always be pure evil.”