The evil killer of Helen McCourt has died, taking her final resting place to the grave.
Pub landlord Ian Simms was jailed for life, with a minimum term of 16 years in prison, for the murder of 22-year-old Helen in February 1988.
Simms strangled Helen as she walked home from work in Billinge but has never revealed where her body is.
READ MORE: Mum fails in bid to have her daughter's killer sent back to prison
The 64-year-old was released in February 2020 after the Parole Board ruled him fit for freedom before his death over the weekend.
No official cause of death has yet been given, but the Ministry of Justice confirmed to the Mirror he had died.
Simms killed Helen in Billinge, Merseyside, in 1988 and was convicted of murder on DNA fingerprint evidence the following year.
Helen was last seen getting off a bus near her house. A scream was later heard from the George and Dragon pub which father-of-two Simms ran.
Days before the murder he had barred Helen after she had a row with another customer. He was heard using obscene language towards her and telling her how much he hated her.
Simms had previously made sexual advances towards Helen and it was thought Helen had discovered he was having an affair with a 21-year-old woman.
Helen's determined mum Marie, 77, fought for Helen's Law and in March it was passed by ministers unopposed.
It places a legal duty on parole judges to consider non-disclosure of information on murderers and paedophiles, with the Ministry of Justice saying these types of criminals "should expect to face longer behind bars".
But Simms was released on licence a month before it came in to force.
Marie went back to court in a bid to send Simms back to his cell but High Court judges ruled in favour of the parole board and ordered her to pay his legal bill.
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