David McGreavy

David Anthony McGreavy (born 1951), also known as The Monster of Worcester or The Real Friday the 13th Killer, is an English convicted triple murderer who killed and dismembered his friend's three children in 1973. He was in the news in 2013 when an anonymity order imposed in 2009 was lifted based on findings that there was a public interest in his application for parole and that there was no immediate danger to his life. He was held in a vulnerable prisoners' unit, where he spent most of his 40 years in prison until he was released on parole in December 2018.

Early life David Anthony McGreavy was born in 1951 in Southport, Lancashire, to Thomas and Bella McGreavy, the second of six children. His father was a sergeant in the British Army, and the family moved frequently between different Army posts. In 1967, David McGreavy left school and joined the Royal Navy, in which he hoped to make a career. However, he was dismissed from the Navy in August 1971 after being court-martialled for starting a fire that destroyed a mess wardroom. McGreavy then moved back in with his parents in Worcestershire. His fiancée broke up with him, and he was sacked from several jobs. Fed up with his lack of work and heavy drinking, his parents forced him to move out.

Ralph family In 1972, unable to live with his parents, McGreavy began boarding with his friend, Clive Kenneth Ralph, his wife, Dorothy Elsie , and their two small children, Paul Kenneth (born 20 November 1968) and Dawn Maria (born 25 April 1971). Clive and Elsie had been school friends, and there was a five-year age difference between them; they had married in September 1968, when Elsie was 16 and pregnant with Paul. They lived on Gillam Street in the Rainbow Hill district of Worcester, England. At the time McGreavy moved in, Elsie was pregnant with the Ralphs' third child, Samantha Jane, who was born on 14 July 1972.

Elsie Ralph (who later remarried and has gone by the names "Elsie Urry" or "Dorothy Urry") recalled in a television interview many years later that McGreavy held a factory job. He paid £6 per week in rent and sometimes cooked Sunday dinner. Although newspapers reported in 1973 that McGreavy and Elsie had had an affair, Elsie has denied this.

McGreavy was arrested by police at 3:50am while walking on Ombersley Rd, approximately 2 miles from the home, trying to hitch a ride out of town. Upon his arrest, McGreavy reportedly said, "What's this all about?" At first, McGreavy denied any responsibility, but several hours later said, "It was me, but it wasn’t me," after which he described in graphic detail what he had done. He told police, "I put my hand over her (Samantha's) mouth, and it went from there. It's all in the house. On Paul, I used a wire. I was going to bury him, but I couldn't. I went outside, and put them on the fence. All I could hear is kids, kids, kids." Former editor of the Sunday Mirror Paul Connew was a reporter at the time and had covered the story. The lifting of the anonymity order brought a fresh round of publicity to the 40-year-old case.

Release In December 2018, following a parole hearing, the report said he had "changed considerably" over the last 45 years and legally cleared him for release on parole.