In November 1989, the small town of Billingham in County Durham was rocked by the disappearance of Julie Hogg, a 22-year-old newly single mum with her whole life ahead of her. Initially, police refused to believe anything sinister had happened and alleged that Julie had moved away to start afresh – something her mother, Ann Ming, totally rejected.
Sadly, due to the incompetence shown in the initial police investigation, it was also Ann who found Julie's body decaying behind the bath panel of her home.
The family's trauma didn't end there either. Julie's neighbour and killer, William 'Billy' Dunlop, was initially allowed to walk free after two juries struggled to reach a conclusion on his guilt. Later, he confessed while in custody for another crime but due to a 'double jeopardy' legal loophole, he was only able to be convicted for perjury (lying under oath).
Until Ann decided to fight for much needed change.
Here is the true story of Julie Hogg's murder, as detailed in ITV’s new drama I Fought the Law.
What happened to Julie Hogg?
In November 1989, Julie Hogg was violently sexually assaulted and strangled to death by her neighbour, William ‘Billy’ Dunlop. Her body was then concealed beneath a bath panel, something initially missed during the police's early investigation.
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Julie’s infant son Kevin had been staying with Ann on the night of Julie’s murder and on 16 November, Ann reported Julie missing.
To start with, the police treated Julie as a missing person – with 29 officers searching Julie’s house and finding nothing, believing she may have skipped town to start over. However, Ann was insistent that something was not right with her daughter.
Three months after she was initially reported missing, in February 1990, Ann found Julie’s body – which at that time was partially decomposed and had been violently mutilated, under a bath panel in Julie’s house.
Ann said she can still recall the “putrefied smell” of her daughter’s body in a recent interview. “I had nightmares, flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, sleeplessness, paranoia,” she said. “I’ve had treatment, but I will never recover from PTSD.”
What did Julie Hogg's mother do?
After finding her daughter's body, the nightmare was far from over. Billy Dunlop, the prime suspect in Julie's murder, managed to evade justice after two juries failed to reach a verdict, and under the double jeopardy law – an ancient English law that barred someone from being tried twice for the same crime – he couldn't be prosecuted again, despite later confessing while in custody for another crime, leaving Julie's family without justice.
But Ann Ming wasn't about to let the system win. In 2000, Dunlop was convicted of perjury after admitting he'd lied under oath, but for Ann, that wasn't enough.
Determined to hold her daughter’s killer accountable, she took her fight to the highest levels of government. In 2003, her persistence paid off when the double jeopardy law was overturned through the Criminal Justice Act. It was a landmark moment in legal history, and Ann's courage and determination finally saw Billy Dunlop convicted and jailed for Julie's murder.
Her fight didn’t just change her own family’s story – it opened the door for over a dozen other convictions, including the killers of Stephen Lawrence.
Still, for Ann, the victory is bittersweet. "When I was awarded an MBE in 2007 for services to the criminal justice system, I thought, I’d rather just have my daughter," the 79-year-old reflected when speaking with The Telegraph.
Her words are a poignant reminder of the immense loss that fuelled her extraordinary fight for justice.
I Fought The Law continues on 7 September at 9pm on ITV1
Kimberley Bond is a Multiplatform Writer for Harper’s Bazaar, focusing on the arts, culture, careers and lifestyle. She previously worked as a Features Writer for Cosmopolitan UK, and has bylines at The Telegraph, The Independent and British Vogue among countless others.
Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
