Heartbreaking life of Barry George - wrongly jailed over Jill Dando murder

26 September 2023 , 08:30

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Barry George in new Netflix doc Who Killed Jill Dando? (Image: Netflix)

When beloved BBC journalist Jill Dando was shot to death, it wasn’t just the lives of her family and friends who changed forever more - it was also the life of Barry George, who was wrongfully convicted of her murder.

The 37-year-old journalist was brutally killed with one single shot in broad daylight on the doorstep of her home in Fulham, London in April 1999. The BBC presenter’s murder not only shocked the nation, but became one of the most complex police investigations in British history, which remains unsolved to this day.

While police grappled to solve her murder, there was one man who became their sole focus - Barry George - who was sentenced to life imprisonment in July 2001. It took eight long years with him wrongfully behind bars, until Barry was unanimously acquitted at a retrial.

New Netflix documentary dives back into the unsolved case of BBC journalist Jill Dando's death (Netflix)

Now, 15 years after being released, the impact of his wrongful imprisonment has never left him, with him in July 2018 that it is hard for him to “feel free” when he still has to “look over my shoulder all the time” in case people are following him or trying to “fit me up for something else”. As Netflix ’s new true-crime documentary dives back into the unsolved murder of journalist Jill Dando, we have taken a look at what happened to Barry George and where he is now.

What happened?

Metropolitan Police handout of Barry George (PA)

Barry George, now 63, was arrested on May 25 2000, nearly one year after the Crimewatch presenter was shot on April 26th, 1999. It is thought police drew on the fact Barry lived close to Dando’s flat in Fulham and had a record of stalking women. He had previously been convicted of attempted rape and indecent assault, and had also been accused of assaulting his ex-wife a few months into their short-lived marriage.

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A picture of Barry dressed in a leather jacket and gas mask, with a blank-firing pistol in his hand found in his flat also contributed to police’s view that he had murdered Jill. Barry was charged with murdering Jill just a few days after his arrest and sent for trial in July 2001 - where he was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Jill Dando, 37, presented on BBC News, Crimewatch and the Holiday (PA)

Jill Dando was found dead on the steps of her home in Fulham, south west London, in April 1999 (PA)

Barry tried to appeal against his conviction at the Court of Appeal in London but his claim was rejected by three judges as “unsafe”. The House of Lords similarly refused permission for George to mount another challenge to his conviction in December 2002.

It wasn't until August 2008 - after he had spent eight years behind bars - when Barry was finally acquitted unanimously by a jury after being granted a retrial following new evidence which undermined the safety of his conviction. Not long after his release, Barry moved to Ireland for a quieter life and to be closer to his sister, Michelle Diskin, who had fought tirelessly for her brother’s case to be retried.

In a trailer for the new Netflix series investigating Jill’s murder, Barry is seen saying: 'It makes me angry that they have taken eight years of my life.' Speaking to , Barry said he hoped the show would finally present that “there’s no way I could have done this”.

Barry George outside the Royal Courts of Justice, London, where he lost his legal battle for compensation in 2013 (PA)

He said both himself and his family are still haunted to this day by what happened. Barry, who has Asperger’s, frontal lobe brain damage, ADHD, learning difficulties and epilepsy, said: “I have my difficulties, but I don’t let that get in the way of defending myself.”

Two years after his acquittal, the Ministry of Justice denied a claim of £1.4million compensation for his "wrongful imprisonment" for Jill Dando's murder. In August 2010, the High Court ruled that Barry was entitled to a judicial review of the case and in 2011, the Supreme Court defined "miscarriage of justice" as evidence "so undermined that no conviction could possibly be based upon it".

Barry George, who was cleared of murdering TV presenter Jill Dando, leaves the High Court in London with his sister Michelle Diskin, in 2009 (PA)

Barry’s claim was heard in the High Court, but summing up, judges Lord Justice Beatson and Mr Justice Irwin said: "There was indeed a case upon which a reasonable jury properly directed could have convicted the claimant of murder” and was denied compensation. Barry was then refused compensation again at the Court of Appeal in 2013 for his wrongful conviction as he was “not innocent enough”. Earlier this month, Barry was spotted visiting his sister in Ireland and relaxing in Cork on a bench, the He will feature in the new Netflix documentary, Who Killed Jill Dando? Which airs tomorrow (September 26).

Louise Lazell