Inside life of Barry George who was wrongly convicted of Jill Dando's murder and spent 8 years in jail | The Sun
BARRY George has tried to build a new life after spending eight years behind bars when wrongly convicted of Jill Dando's murder.
George, who moved to Ireland after being freed, features in a new Netflix documentary Who Killed Jill Dando? about the TV star's death.
He was seen in a trailer ahead of the series being released, saying: "It makes me angry that they have taken eight years of my life."
George, now 63, was found guilty in July 2001 of murdering 37-year-old Dando who was shot dead outside her home in Fulham, south-west London, on April 26 1999.
But his conviction was overturned in August 2008 after a retrial.
One of his lawyers Jeremy Moore said George's first words after being cleared were: "I cannot believe it."
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Mr Moore read a statement from his client outside the Old Bailey in London at the time, saying: "I am overwhelmed.
"I want to thank my family, legal team, and all the people who have supported me in prison and around the country."
His sister Michelle Diskin, who helped challenge the original conviction, said: "We have been fighting for many years.
"Now we need time together to be a family again."
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Another of George's defence barristers has now said he doesn't believe the murder of the BBC's Crimewatch and Holiday presenter Dando will ever be solved.
William Clegg also insisted George was innocent, saying he would have made "a very improbable assassin".
Mr Clegg told Metro: "He was somebody who I don’t think had the intelligence to be able to have pulled off such a professional assassination.
"I mean, it was quite a meticulously-planned shooting."
Mr Clegg added he thought it "would be very unlikely after all this time for the real killer to be apprehended".
At the time of the murder George lived less than half a mile away from Dando's home.
Cops began monitoring him in May 2000, finding he had a history of stalking women, sexual offences and other anti-social and attention-seeking behaviour.
It was alleged during his first Old Bailey trial that a minute particle of gunshot residue found in his pocket came from the murder weapon.
But by 2008 the idea a particle so small could be used as evidence had been discredited.
He was acquitted on the basis that evidence in the original trial couldn’t be taken into consideration.
No one else has been charged with the murder.
'LIVING IN FEAR'
George has since revealed he still lived "looking over his shoulder" and did "not feel free" despite being cleared.
He recalled in 2018: "I was living in fear – nobody should have to live like that."
After being freed from prison he went to live in Cork in Ireland with his sister.
He applied for compensation for wrongful imprisonment but his bid was rejected in 2013.
Meanwhile, Jill's brother Nigel Dando says he hopes the new three-part Netflix series could "prick the conscience of whoever did it" and prompt them to come forward.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The documentary may just jog somebody's conscience into coming forward and confessing that they were the person who pulled the trigger on the day in question.
"My belief is that if they are alive, and they do have a conscience, that programmes like this may just prick the conscience of whoever did it.
"There are also people around who may have some knowledge of this and I would say to them, it is never too late."
At the time of her murder Jill had recently got engaged to her boyfriend Alan Farthing, a top gynaecologist who would later oversee the births of Prince William and Kate's children.
Various theories have been suggested to help solve the case.
The Metropolitan Police were contacted by a woman claiming the IRA were responsible for the murder.
Other speculation has suggested it was a hit by a London underworld gang in revenge after Jill reported on them for Crimewatch.
Another theory is that she was killed by Serbian warlords after fronting an appeal for Kosovan refugees.
Recent reports have also raised the idea she was murdered on the orders of a Russian mafia don after he she rejected his advances while filming a holiday show in Cyprus.
It has also been suggested in French court documents that Jill was murdered by a Russian hitman in a case of mistaken identity.
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