'He is still a danger' - Child killer's move brings back sister's fears

Elizabeth McMonigle was just nine years old when her brother and sister were killed during a brutal robbery in their Glasgow home.

John McMonigle, 13, and Irene McMonigle, 12, were bludgeoned to death with a hammer by Alexander Millar in 1976.

He admitted culpable homicide on the grounds of diminished responsibility, and had been detained in secure facilities in Scotland ever since.

But now the revelation that Millar has been transferred to England has sparked concerns about the amount of information the family will receive about Millar - and brought back the fears that Elizabeth has lived with for more than 40 years.

"It has taken me back to that child that I was, and that fear he could come and get me and my children," she told BBC Scotland's The Nine programme.

Elizabeth, who is now 55, said this was compounded by the fact that she and her family now live in the north of England.

"It is in my mind constantly and I think about my children and my grandchildren," she said.

"In myself, I'm that nine-year-old girl again - but this time, I've not got my dad with me, and I'm lost."

At the time of the killings, the family had been planning to move from Govan to a new home in the Pollok area of the city.

Elizabeth and her father had left the house to take some belongings to the new property.

They found the bodies of John and Irene on their return.

"I just remember John always smiling. He was really, really popular in school and he loved his football.

"Irene always wanted to be a nurse, and she was like my mum. Because it was just my dad who was bringing us three up.

"She was like the mother figure... they should still be here."

Elizabeth said no-one else could fully understand the effect that the crime had on her.

"That lives with me... my dad trying to save the two of them. He was frantic."

Millar was held for more than 30 years at the State Hospital in Carstairs, Lanarkshire, before being moved to a facility in Ayrshire.

Under the conditions of his detention, he can be held without a limit of time.

Millar has appealed for release on a number of occasions. Last year an appeal which had begun in 2019 was turned down by the Mental Health Tribunal Scotland.

He was transferred to England last month, and Elizabeth was told that her right to information about Millar had changed.

The family is concerned that he could be released or allowed day release without them being informed.

"It doesn't matter how old he is. To me, he is still a danger, and he always will be," said Elizabeth.

"I always said when I stayed in Glasgow that I would come back to England, just to get away from all of that.

"There's nowhere for me to run any more, and I am stuck. I am stuck with what I do, where do I go?"

'Horrific crime'

She received a letter from the Scottish government last month informing her about Millar's transfer.

It also said that she would not receive any further information about him through the Victim Notification Scheme.

The Scottish government told BBC Scotland that it was unable to comment on individual cases, but that transfers took place so patients could "receive care and treatment appropriate to their needs".

It said the family may be able to access equivalent information through similar schemes in a patient's new location.

The Ministry of Justice, which is responsible for the justice system in England, said it had been a "horrific crime".

It said the Victim Contact Scheme which operates in England and Wales "stands ready to support them and will provide the same rights as victims they had when Millar was held in Scotland".

It is understood that the McMonigle family will be entitled to know about Millar being released. They would also be able to apply for licence conditions to be put in place if he was released.