After murdering a senior by strangling him to death and stealing his car on New Year’s Eve, a “calculated and evil” murderer was sentenced to 19 years in prison.
Ian Dunne, a 44-year-old Blackpool resident who strangled Malcolm Frary, 76, in his own house using the string from his jogging pants, then “told lie after lie” to hide his tracks.
The widower’s car was found abandoned, and his cell phone was recovered close to train lines.
When Dunne was detained, he initially denied knowing how Mr. Frary passed away, but he eventually acknowledged to having killed him.
After admitting guilt to murder at Preston Crown Court, he was sentenced to a minimum of 19 years in prison.
After a neighbor saw a shattered glass panel in Mr. Frary’s front door and the curtains were still drawn, Mr. Frary’s son was alerted to the corpse on New Year’s Day.
At 4.35 p.m. on that day, police rushed to the residence, and emergency workers confirmed the widower’s untimely death.
An investigation into the murder was opened after a Home Office post-mortem determined the cause of death to be strangling.
Dunne was quickly linked to the crime after police discovered Mr Frary had given a family friend a lift to work in his Vauxhall Meriva around 5.40pm on 31 December.
They discovered that Dunne was also in the car at the time, and after dropping off the buddy, Mr. Frary drove Dunne to his house.
A neighbor first noticed Dunne pounding on Mr. Frary’s front door shortly after, at approximately 6:20 p.m. Ten minutes later, the Vauxhall Meriva was shown on camera being driven quickly away from the house.
After then, Mr. Frary’s cellphone was switched off, and video captured a man—possibly Dunne—walking along surrounding streets into Woodstock Gardens.
Mr. Frary’s corpse was discovered inside his residence the next day.
The missing Vauxhall was found in Woodstock Gardens on 2 January, and officers confirmed that the vehicle had been there since New Year’s Day.
A search of the local area led officers to a wallet containing Mr Frary’s driving licence and a pair of black gloves in a street drain.
Additionally, Mr. Frary’s green mobile phone was found on the train lines near Ventnor Road and the intersection of Horncliffe Road.
Officers also discovered a drawstring from Dunne’s jogging trousers about 7 feet away from the phone.
Dunne’s characteristic camouflage jacket was also discovered on the rails.
When Dunne was taken into custody, he pretended to be shocked and that he had been somewhere else when Mr. Frary passed away.
He said Mr. Frary had driven him to a friend’s house where he had spent the night and that he was unaware of the pensioner’s manner of passing away.
Dunne, 44, was eventually charged with murder after refusing to respond when presented with the evidence.
In an effort to thwart the murder inquiry, Dunne delivered “lie after lie,” according to Det Chief Inspector Lee Wilson of the Blackpool CID.
Dunne continually tried to mislead and distort the truth over the course of the inquiry and never expressed regret or sorrow, the prosecutor said, adding that his actions were cold, planned, and nasty.
‘Throughout, he thought only about himself and told lie after lie in an effort to frustrate the investigation and court process.
‘Only at the eleventh hour, with nowhere left to go with his lies, did he finally admit Mr Frary’s murder.’
Det Chief Inspector Wilson added that Dunne will now have a ‘very long time to contemplate the enormity of his actions and the upset and anxiety he has caused’.
Katie Marsden, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West said: ‘This was a tragic case, Mr Frary was described by family and friends as a gentle, kind man, his life has now been cut short by the selfish and brutal actions of Ian Dunne.
‘The Crown Prosecution Service worked with Lancashire police to build a strong case. Dunne has attempted to mislead the police and court at every turn.
‘When faced with the body of evidence including witness testimony, CCTV of his movements, cell site analysis to show where he was at the material time and forensic evidence, he abandoned his alibi and accepted his guilt.
‘I hope this conviction and sentence will give Mr Frary’s family and friends some sense of justice. My thoughts are with them at this time.’