Dad's warning as monster who killed teenage daughter is free to roam the streets

26 August 2023 , 17:14

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James Duggan was convicted in 2006 of murdering Rebecca Ryle

A father whose teenage daughter’s murderer has been released from prison has issued a warning to anyone who comes into contact with him.

Rebecca Ryle was 19 when she was strangled to death and dumped half naked in a field near her home in Australia by James Duggan in 2004, six months after her family emigrated Down Under. He was sentenced to life in prison in Australia with a minimum term of 11 years and was refused parole following a hearing in 2019 but his case was reviewed in September 2021 when the Attorney General recommended his release.

Duggan, now 38, was freed in March 2022 and then deported to the UK. Last Monday Liverpool Crown Court heard the now 38-year-old was subject to indefinite notification requirements in January this year after being convicted of breaching a sexual risk order (SRO) and battery. The killer was released from the 26-week sentence on July 11 and was required to sign the sex offenders' register within the following three days, but failed to do so and was arrested again on July 17.

Rebecca Ryle was 19 when she was strangled to death (Marie Ryle)

Earlier this month Duggan was pulled into court again, though he walked free with a two-year suspended sentence. Now Francis Ryle, Rebecca’s father, has spoken out. He told the Echo: “Words fail me. I want to believe in the good side of everyone and be understanding if they had bad circumstances and everything but I just feel this guy is bad to the bone. I just can't see any redemption. You know, I really can't.

“We'd seen his behaviour in court and he had no redeeming characteristics whatsoever to be let free. Everything we had seen about him and everything we had heard from other people who knew him as a kid or a young man, he was just a dangerous, unpleasant individual with no redeeming qualities.

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"The evidence was all there in the court manuscripts. It was a bitter pill to swallow because we never saw him have any shame or understanding or comprehension of the seriousness of his crimes, no apology or anything like that whatsoever. He was in detention before he was deported from Australia. On his Facebook page he had said he'd never done it. He said he'd served time for a crime he'd never committed. He had no acceptance of the gravity of his actions.

“We heard straight away, as soon as it [news he was in court once more] was published in the ECHO. A family friend contacted us and said this has been in the ECHO so please be aware of it. And we just knew, it was almost inevitable."

Remy Greasley