Nikki Allan trial: Girl, 7, was ‘stabbed repeatedly through the chest’ after being ‘lured to her death’, court told
A seven-year-old girl was lured to her death by a man who broke her skull with a brick before repeatedly stabbing her through the heart, a court has heard.
Nikki Allan was killed in a derelict Exchange Building near her home in Hendon, Sunderland, by David Boyd in October 1992, jurors at Newcastle Crown Court were told.
Aged 25 at the time, Boyd is accused of hitting Nikki at least once, leaving her bloodied, before forcing her into the derelict building through a boarded-up window.
“Inside the building, the man who took her there beat Nikki Allan about the head with a brick,” Richard Wright KC told jurors.
“He shattered her skull. He then used a knife to stab her repeatedly through the chest, the knife being driven in and out of her body many times through the same hole, into her heart, into her lungs, making sure of the job of killing her.”
Nikki Allan’s body was found in the basement of a derelict building
Boyd – now aged 55 – was well-known to Nikki’s family and the boyfriend of her babysitter, the court heard.
On the night of her death, Boyd told police he saw Nikki, and by his own account, was “the last man to describe seeing her alive”.
The schoolgirl’s body was found dumped in the corner of a basement room, where the court heard the killer hoped it would remain undetected.
She was found the next morning by two residents who joined the search to look for her. A child’s purple coat and red shoe was found in the area near the building.
George Heron was charged with her murder in 1993 and tried at Leeds Crown Court, where the jury found him not guilty.
“George Heron was not the killer of Nikki Allan,” Mr Wright said.
“The killer of Nikki Allan was David Boyd, the man sitting in the dock at the back of this court.”
Breakthroughs in technology meant Boyd’s DNA was found in “multiple areas” on Nikki’s clothing.
The jury was told that Boyd had not been treated as a suspect at any point during the original police investigation but that he was first arrested on suspicion of murder in April 2018.
Boyd was arrested again and interviewed in 2019. When asked to explain why his DNA had been found on Nikki’s clothing, he said he had spat over his balcony while Nikki was playing below and it “must have soaked through her clothing and onto her skin”.
Mr Wright said a witness also saw a young girl skipping alongside a man, and two screams were heard at around 10pm that night.
“As you know the little girl was plainly happy to be walking with her killer suggesting somebody that was known to her and who she trusted,” Mr Wright told the court.
Boyd had also visited the derelict building with a 12-year-old boy days before Nikki died. The court was told he was familiar with the interior.
The prosecution does not have to prove a motive – but the jury was invited to conclude the killer did not lure Nikki away for a “benign reason”, Mr Wright said.
Rory McIlroy has completed a career Grand Slam in golf with his win at the US Masters tournament.
The Masters was the last major tournament left for McIlroy to complete the modern golf Grand Slam – a feat only five others have managed before him.
McIlroy, who was making his 11th attempt at completing the Grand Slam, faced off Justin Rose in a sudden-death playoff to decide the Masters champion, after they finished tied on 11 under at the end of regulation on Sunday.
McIlroy reacts as he wins. Pic: AP
McIlroy reacts after winning against Justin Rose at the Masters. Pic: AP
“It’s my 17th time here and I started to wonder if it would ever be my time,” McIlroy said just before slipping on the Green Jacket during the presentation ceremony.
“I’m just absolutely honoured and thrilled and just so proud to be able to call myself a Masters champion.”
McIlroy had missed his six-foot putt for par, a bogey which dropped him back to 11 under, where he joined Rose – leading to a dramatic play-off between the two.
Only five other golfers have been able to complete a career Grand Slam, including Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen.
Pic: AP
McIlroy is a two-time winner of the PGA Championship, claiming the prize in 2012 and 2014.
The 35-year-old also won his first major title, the US Open, in 2011, and won The Open Championship in 2014.
How did McIlroy get to the victory?
McIlroy recovered from losing his overnight two-shot advantage with an opening-hole double bogey to initially take control at Augusta National, only to blow a four-shot lead over his closing six holes.
The world No 2 bogeyed the last to close a one-over 73 and slip back to 11 under alongside Rose, who overturned a seven-stroke deficit and posted a stunning final-round 66 to force a play-off.
The players returned to the 18th for the play-off, where McIlroy made amends for his 72nd-hole blunder by firing a stunning approach to within three feet of the pin and making the birdie putt required for a life-changing win.
UK
Race to keep British Steel furnaces running with last-minute efforts to secure raw materials under way
Last-minute efforts to keep British Steel operating are to be carried out today, as the plant races to secure a supply of raw materials.
The Department for Business and Trade said officials are working to secure supplies of materials, including coking coal, to keep British Steel operational, as well as to ensure all staff will be paid.
It added that setting up new supply chains was “crucial” as a fall in blast furnace temperature could risk “irreparable damage to the site, with the steel setting and scarring the machinery”.
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British Steel: What happens next?
Companies including Tata – which ran the now-closed Port Talbot steelworks – and Rainham Steel have offered managerial support and materials to keep the Lincolnshire site running.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said in a statement that “when I said steelmaking has a future in the UK, I meant it”.
“Steel is vital for our national security and our ambitious plans for the housing, infrastructure and manufacturing sectors in the UK,” he added.
“We will set out a long-term plan to co-invest with the private sector to ensure steel in the UK has a bright and sustainable future.”
Unions said Jingye decided to cancel orders of key materials for the steelworks
Earlier this month, unions said the steelwork’s owner, Chinese company Jingye, decided to cancel future orders for the iron ore, coal and other raw materials needed to keep the furnaces running.
It meant the Scunthorpe plant had been on course to close down by May, bit it sparked urgent calls for government intervention.
Emergency legislation was passed on Saturday bringing the steelworks into effective government control, and officials were on site as soon as the new legislation came into force.
However, the business secretary has warned that does not mean the plant is guaranteed to survive.
Appearing on Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Mr Reynolds also said he would not bring a Chinese company into the “sensitive” steel sector again.
“I don’t know… the Boris Johnson government when they did this, what exactly the situation was,” he added. “But I think it’s a sensitive area.”
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‘I wouldn’t bring a Chinese company into our steel sector’
Jingye stepped in with a deal to buy British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant out of insolvency in 2020, when Mr Johnson was prime minister.
The minister added that while The Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill stops short of the full nationalisation of British Steel, “to be frank, as I said to parliament yesterday, it is perhaps at this stage the likely option”.
The Conservatives accused the government of acting “too late” and implementing a “botched nationalisation” after ignoring warnings about the risk to the steelworks.
Read more:
A sticking plaster, not a solution: What next for British Steel?
How Trump, China and Reform all played their part
Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith said: “The Labour Government have landed themselves in a steel crisis entirely of their own making.
“They’ve made poor decisions and let the unions dictate their actions.”
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