Evil child killer Robert Black has died of natural causes in Maghaberry prison, Northern Ireland.
In a statement, the Northern Ireland Prison Service confirmed that a “68-year-old prisoner” had died at the high-security jail in County Antrim.
“While this is not being treated as suspicious, the Prison Service has informed the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Coroner, and Prisoner Ombudsman
“It would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”
On 30th July 1982 Black abducted and murdered 11-year-old Susan Maxwell from Cornhill-on-Tweed. Her body was later found near Twycross in Staffordshire.
On 8th July 1983 he abducted five-year-old Caroline Hogg from outside her home in Portobello. Her body was later found in a ditch in Leicestershire.
In 1986 Black abducted 10-year-old Sarah Harper as she walked from a corner shop near her home in Morley, Leeds. Her body was later discovered in the River Trent in Nottingham.
A massive police enquiry involving six forces failed to identify the culprit then in 1990 Black was arrested following another abduction of a young girl in the Borders.
He plead guilty to that offence and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
In 1994 Black was convicted for the murders of Susan, Caroline and Sarah and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Subsequent investigations by the Police Service of Northern Ireland linked him to the murder of nine-year-old Jennifer Cardy near her home in Ballinderry, County Antrim, on 12 August 1981. At the time, he was in Northern Ireland working as a delivery driver for a London-based poster company.
He was later convicted of Jennifer’s murder and since then he has been serving his sentence in Northern Ireland.
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
