Overview
- Mr Justice Robert Bright sentenced Paul Quinn on Friday to 21 years in custody plus a three-year extended licence, a total term of 24 years, with parole eligibility after about 14 years.
- Quinn was convicted in April after forensic DNA from saliva on the victim’s vest top, taken in 2007, matched his profile when it entered the national database in 2012 and was searched again in 2022.
- Andrew Malkinson was wrongly convicted in 2004 on eyewitness identification, served 17 years, was released in 2020, and had his conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal in 2023 after the DNA evidence emerged.
- The victim suffered severe injuries including prolonged strangulation, a fractured cheek and biting; the judge praised her courage for giving evidence two decades after the attack.
- The case has sparked a public inquiry and Independent Office for Police Conduct investigations into Greater Manchester Police officers, CCRC leadership resignations, and a police appeal for any further possible victims linked to Quinn.