‘As evil as the Yorkshire Ripper’

A SERIAL rapist, who is serving a life sentence for the murder of a 14-year-old girl in Britain, was investigated by gardaí in connection with the disappearance and murder of three Irish women, it has emerged.

The movements of Robert Howard, a native of Laois described by one detective as “as evil as the Yorkshire Ripper”, are also to be traced by gardaí in relation to a number of sex attacks and robberies dating back to the 1980s.

He is serving life for the murder of teenager Hannah Williams, from Deptford in east London. Her body was dumped in a disused cement works in March 2001.

Following his arrest for the 1994 murder of 15-year-old Arlene Arkinson in Co Tyrone, police on both sides of the Border had at least two meetings to discuss his possible involvement in a string of unsolved cases in the Republic.

The now 61-year-old, who was married briefly in the mid-80s, was investigated by detectives involved in Operation Trace, set up in 1998 after the disappearance of six young women.

While he is believed to have been in Ireland at the time of three of the disappearances - Annie McCarrick in 1993, Jo Jo Dullard in 1995 and Deirdre Jacob in 1998 - detectives found nothing concrete to link him to the disappearances.

A source close to Operation Trace said the team had a “very in depth look” at him as he had an extensive criminal history here and in Britain and because he moved between the two jurisdictions during the 90s.

While the source conceded there is still a possibility Howard was responsible for one or all of the three murders, he added: “As far as I know, from our investigation, ‘no’.”

Howard is believed to have committed other crimes here. He was given 10 years for the rape of a 58-year-old in Cork in 1974. Gardaí believe he carried out a serious sexual assault in Waterford and several burglaries in Monaghan in the late 80s.

Detectives have traced him to at least three addresses in Dublin and also to Wexford. Gardaí are said to be preparing to check their files on unsolved cases, particularly assaults on young girls, to see if they tally with Howard’s movements.

North of the border, he is believed to have lived in Newry, Co Down, Castlederg and Cookstown, Co Tyrone, where he was under 24-hour surveillance.

Howard, born in 1944 and brought up in Mountmellick, Co Laois, was first convicted of larceny, aged 13. He has been preying on young girls for five decades - drifting throughout the Republic, the North and England from community to community offering his services as a tradesman.

His first sex attack was in London in 1964 when he carried out a vile sex act on a six-year-old girl during a burglary. He was also convicted of attempted rape and aggravated burglary in Durham.

In March 1974, he was jailed for 10 years after raping a 58-year-old woman in Cork. The victim was asleep in bed when Howard broke in, gagged and bound her with a sheet and then subjected her to a five-hour ordeal of sexual assaults as well as being forced to hand over money.

He was released after seven years in Mountjoy. But as there was no sex offenders register to catalogue crimes from the 1970s, he was free to drift into communities and ingratiate himself with locals unaware of his past.

One detective who interviewed him has no doubt about how evil he is. He observed: “He is very shrewd and has native cunning. He is the proverbial shithouse rat - an evil bastard. As evil as the Yorkshire Ripper. We know he has killed and there is no doubt he would kill again.”

Q & A

Who is Robert Howard?

A serial rapist and child killer who is serving a life sentence for the murder of 14-year-old Hannah Williams. Detectives are certain he killed a second teenager Arlene Arkinson in Co Tyrone in 1994.

The 61-year-old Laois man has a string of convictions for sexual offences, dating back to 1964 and including the brutal rape of a Cork woman in 1974.

Was he involved in the murders of the six missing Irish women?

Detectives investigated Howard in connection with three of the cases.

It is believed he was in the country when Annie McCarrick (1993), Jo Jo Dullard (1995) and Deirdre Jacob (1998) disappeared. However, gardaí found no concrete links to the murders.

Why are his life and crimes now being revealed in full?

Legal restrictions in Britain and the North barred reporting of the Williams murder trial until the conclusion of his trial for the killing of Arlene and other offences for which he was charged.

These restrictions were lifted yesterday.

Where is he now?

Robert Howard is in Maghaberry Prison in the North waiting to be transferred to England to serve the remainder of a life sentence for the murder of Hannah Williams.