What happened to Julie Hogg? Ann Ming's daughter has powerful legacy

Following a later admission from Dunlop that he had, in fact, killed Julie, Ming took it upon herself to lead an exhaustive battle to change the UK's 'double jeopardy' law – and ensure that he could be tried again.

This four-part series takes us inside the harrowing journey that Ann went on, from the horrific discovery of Julie's fate through to the belated conviction of Dunlop almost two decades later.

Here's a brief summary of the true story behind ITV's I Fought the Law, which is streaming now on ITVX, and airs Sundays and Mondays on ITV1.

What happened to I Fought the Law's Julie Hogg?

Julie Hogg was murdered by William Dunlop on 16th November 1989, aged only 22, but it took almost three months for the vile crime to be detected.

Dunlop turned up at Hogg's house after an evening of heavy drinking, with his brutal attack reportedly preceded by her making a comment in jest at an injury to his eye, which he had sustained in a fight earlier that day (via The Independent).

He strangled Julie to death and hid her body underneath the bath in her own home, removing and replacing a panel on the side of it in a bid to keep his horrific crime from coming to light.

In the immediate aftermath, it appeared that he'd succeeded. When Julie was reported missing, a police search of her home ensued and found no evidence of any violent or otherwise "untoward" activity having taken place.

Still, her mother was suspicious that there was more to the story than officers had deemed, with the drawn curtains and locked doors at the deserted property striking her as highly unusual.

Three months passed with no sign of Julie, leaving Ann in a state of harrowing limbo as to what had happened to her daughter.

Finally, when Julie's husband and young son moved back into the property, a smell emanating from the bathroom alerted them – and it was Ann herself who ultimately removed the panels to discover what she described as "a living nightmare".

Dunlop became linked to the case as a recent associate of Julie's; his arrest followed when his DNA and clothing fibres were found on a blanket that Julie was wrapped in, while his victim's house keys were discovered in a police search of his home.

Still, this evidence and more was not enough to secure a conviction for Dunlop, with a trial and re-trial resulting in a hung jury, meaning that he was acquitted – and, at that time, not eligible to be tried again.

This was due to the 'double jeopardy' law of the day, which meant that an individual could not be prosecuted multiple times for the same crime, even in light of revelatory evidence or an admission – which Dunlop provided a decade on from the crime.

At a Parole Board hearing in December 2024, Dunlop explained that his admission had been entirely "selfish" in nature, and given only due to the sense of security he felt due to the double jeopardy clause (via BBC News).

Not content with the six years added to Dunlop's sentence over perjury, Ann mounted a one-woman campaign to have the double jeopardy law scrapped, thus allowing the killer to be properly sentenced for his unspeakable crime.

"A lot of people did think I had a team of lawyers doing it on my behalf and this wasn't the case, and [the drama] shows that," said Ann, in a recent interview with BBC News upon the release of I Fought the Law.

In 2005, the law was amended and Dunlop was finally sentenced for Julie's murder the following year – getting a life sentence with a minimum term of 17 years, which has now been served.

At a Parole Board hearing earlier this year, Dunlop was considered for a move to an open prison, following positive reports from prison officials about his behaviour and rehabilitation, but this was ultimately blocked by Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "Julie Hogg's murder was a horrific crime and our thoughts remain with her friends and family. Public protection is our number one priority which is why we have blocked William Dunlop's transfer to open prison."

Julie Hogg's legacy: Convictions since double jeopardy law change

The tireless campaigning of Ann Ming to have the double jeopardy law changed has allowed justice to be served in cases beyond that of her own daughter, Julie Hogg.

Four years after Dunlop's conviction for Julie's murder, Mark Weston was tried and convicted of Vikki Thompson's murder, which he had been wrongly acquitted of back in 1996. Strong evidence had since come to light to motivate the reissue of the charge.

In December 2018, Russell Bishop stood trial for the second time for the murders of nine-year-old girls Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway, which he had first been charged with a full three decades earlier.

Advancements in forensics technology were a key factor in securing a guilty verdict in the second trial, with clothing from the crime scene undergoing closer scrutiny when the case against Bishop was re-opened.

The following year, Michael Weir was convicted for the second time for the murder of pensioner Leonard Harris, which he had initially been found guilty of back in 1999.

The Court of Appeal had quashed the original verdict due to a technicality relating to the retainment of a DNA profile on the national DNA database, which had been used for comparative purposes during the investigation.

Once again, advancements in forensics technology helped bring new evidence against Weir, connecting Harris's murder to that of another older person, 83-year-old Rose Seferian, ensuring that he was sent down for both crimes two decades later.

I Fought the Law is available to stream on ITVX. Episodes air Sundays and Mondays at 9pm on ITV1.

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