Helen McCourt’s mother faces losing her home if £75,000 legal battle fails to return her daughter’s killer to prison

• Murdered Ian Simms, 63, is free on licence following ruling by High Court judges
• Simms had been serving life sentence for abduction and murder of Helen, 22
• Marie McCourt has applied for High Court to review the Parole Board decision 
• Mrs McCourt could face more than £75,000 in costs if her bid is unsuccessful

The mother of murder victim Helen McCourt could lose her home if her £75,000 legal battle to return her daughter’s killer to prison fails.

Ian Simms, 63, is free on licence following a ruling by High Court judges that he should not be kept in custody pending the outcome of a legal challenge. 

But Marie McCourt has applied for the High Court to review the Parole Board decision that freed Simms – who had been serving a life sentence for the abduction and murder of her daughter Helen, 22, in 1988.

Marie McCourt (right), the mother of murder victim Helen McCourt (left), could lose her home if her £75,000 legal battle to return her daughter’s killer to prison fails

Simms has refused to disclose the location of Helen’s body.   

Mrs McCourt, from Billinge, Merseyside, could face more than £75,000 in costs if her High Court bid, which is listed to be heard from July 29, is unsuccessful. 

She said: ‘Simms has already stolen my daughter and my right to give her a Christian burial. 

‘Now, I could lose my home and be left destitute. 

‘Helen loved this house and it holds so many memories of her. How is this fair?’

Mrs McCourt expressed gratitude for her pro bono legal assistance and her fear about the battle ahead.

‘But proceeding with this action means I could lose my home, security and sanity. 

‘I really feel I have been pushed to the very brink and am teetering on a cliff edge,’ she added.

Simms (arriving at St Helens Magistrates Court in Merseyside in 1988) has refused to disclose the location of Helen’s body

WHAT IS HELEN’S LAW?

Marie McCourt wants Britain to adopt ‘Helen’s Law’ – legislation which would prevent the release of killers who have hidden the locations of their victims’ bodies.

She writes on change.org: If parole is granted, my hopes of finding my daughter may never be realised. No other family should live this ordeal.

I, hereby, petition the Prime Minister Theresa May and Home Secretary Amber Rudd to acknowledge the pain and distress caused to the families of missing murder victims by:

Denying parole to murderers for as long as they refuse to disclose the whereabouts of their victim’s remains 

Passing a full life tariff (denying parole or release) until the murderer discloses the location (and enables the recovery) of their victim’s remains 

Automatically applying the following rarely-used common law offences in murder trials without a body*; preventing the burial of a corpse and conspiracy to prevent the burial of a corpse, disposing of a corpse, obstructing a coroner (*as in the case of R v Hunter, 1974 (from Archbold, Criminal Pleading Evidence and Practice 2015)

The Parole Board recommended Simms should be released following a hearing in November 2019.

The board reviewed its decision following a challenge by Justice Secretary Robert Buckland, but again concluded, on January 8, that Simms should be freed.  

After Simms’s release, a Ministry of Justice spokesman said: ‘We completely understand the pain and anguish that the Parole Board’s decision has caused Marie McCourt and her family.

‘The High Court’s ruling meant we had to release Ian Simms from custody though he will be recalled if the court later decides to quash the Parole Board’s decision.

‘He will be on licence for life, subject to strict conditions and probation supervision when released, and he faces a return to prison if he fails to comply.’

Mrs McCourt has carried out constant campaigning leading to legislation currently before the House of Lords which would deny parole to killers such as Simms. 

The Prisoners (Disclosure of Information about Victims) Bill, dubbed Helen’s Law, has already been approved by MPs.

If passed in the House of Lords, it will deny parole to killers who refuse to reveal the location of their victims’ bodies and will also apply to offenders who do not reveal the identity of child victims in indecent images.

Mrs McCourt, from Billinge, Merseyside, could face more than £75,000 in costs if her High Court bid, which is listed to be heard from July 29, is unsuccessful. Pictured: Mrs McCourt with Conor McGinn MP for St Helens North last year

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