Marie McCourt is campaigning for new legal provisions to punish murderers who refuse to reveal where they have hidden their victims.. This movement follows the decades-long search for her daughter, Helen, who disappeared in Liverpool in 1988.
The 1988 disappearance of Helen McCourt in Liverpool
Helen McCourt disappeared in 1988 while walking from her workplace in Liverpool to her home in Billinge. The investigation into her disappearance led to the arrest of Ian Simms, a local pub landlord, after police discovered blood traces near a back entrance and a piece of Helen's jewelry in his vehicle. This evidence eventually led to Simms' conviction in 1989.
Marie McCourt spent decades searching for her daughter using every available resource, including private investigators and even psychics. This exhaustive search was driven by the refusal of Ian Simms to reveal where Helen's body was hidden, a silence that persisted throughout his imprisonment and even after his temporary release in 2020.
How Helen's Law denied five parole applications
The 2020 Prisoners (Disclosure of Information About Victims) Act, commonly referred to as Helen's Law, was established to prevent killers from being released without disclosing the location of a victim's body. This legislation was a direct response to the loophole that allowed perpetrators to seek parole while maintaining silence about their victims' final resting places.
According to the report, this law has already had a tangible impact on the justice system, with five parole applications being denied due to a perpetrator's refusal to cooperate. While Simms died in 2022 after being released on temporary parole, the legislative precedent set by his case continues to influence how the Parole Board handles similar requests today.
The push for Helen's Law Mark II and new criminal charges
Marie McCourt and award-winning journalist Fiona Duffy are now calling for a significant expansion of these protections through an amendment dubbed Helen's Law Mark II. their collaboration, which includes the book Justice for Helen: A Mother's Quest to Find Her Murdered Daughter, seeks to move beyond parole considerations and toward direct criminal punishment for the act of concealment.
The proposed "Helen's Law Mark II" would create specific criminal offenses for killers or sexual predators who hide or destroy evidence related to a victim's remains. As the source notes, journalist Fiona Duffy emphasizes that the additional hurt inflicted by destroying evidence has "untold consequences" for grieving families.
The uncertainty of updating ancient common law offences
Legal experts have noted that "ancient common law offences" regarding the obstruction of the discovery of a body are outdated and need to be modernized. The campaign,which was recently highlighted in a Daily Mail Trial+ podcast episode, argues that the legal system must reflect the modern reality of how evidence is withheld to prolong family suffering.
It remains unverified whether the UK government or Parliament will move to codify these specific new criminal charges into law. Additionally,the report does not clarify if there is currently any formal legislative movement to address the specific concerns raised by McCourt and Duffy regarding the obstruction of coroner's inquests or the prevention of burials.
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