by Ronan McSherry

TREVOR Hamilton (25) has finally admitted he was responsible for murder of Strabane pensioner Attracta Harron. He abducted the retired librarian as she was returning from Mass in Murlog, Lifford on December 11, 2003.

However the convicted Sion Mills' rapist and killer, who is now 25-years-old, is claiming the whole life sentence he received was 'excessive.'

In 2006 the family of Attracta Harron was forced to endure a six week long trial as Hamilton strenuously denied perpetrating the henious crime against the vulnerable 65-year-old lady. After hearing evidence from more than 200 witnesses, all but two of them for the prosecution, the jury of six men and six women delivered a guilty verdict. The trial judge Mr Justice McLaughlin told Hamilton, "The jury has convicted you on the evidence and I agree without reservation.

"The evidence convicting you was as strong as any I have witnessed in my 35 years on the bench."

Outside the Appeal Court in Belfast on Monday an emotional Michael Harron, husband of Attracta, told the Ulsterherald, "I am very relieved and I'm sure the rest of the family will be that Hamilton has finally accepted his guilt. I was dreading this would be dragged on by the lawyers for years. I am relieved it is almost all over."

Hamilton's defence team had intimated they would be appealing against the murder conviction. It is understood they planned to object to the use and reliability of the low-copy DNA evidence. This was used by the prosecution at his trial in order to prove that a drop of blood from Attracta Harron was present in Hamilton's Mitsubishi Lantra found burnt out at his house on the day she disappeared. The trial was told that the chances of the blood coming from someone other than the murder victim were one billion to one.

The other basis for an appeal against his conviction was that the jury was informed of his previous offending which involved Hamilton using his car to abduct and rape a woman back at his family homestead when his parents were away. He received a seven year prison term for those offences which bore chilling similarities to the abduction of Mrs Harron. It was the first time a jury in this jurisdiction has heard evidence of a defendant's previous 'bad character.'

On Monday Hamilton's barrister Jim Gallagher QC dramatically told the Appeal Court the defence had looked at the trial judge's decision to permit offences of the same category committed by the defendant to be made known to the jury. The defence stated they accepted there was nothing to support the application to appeal against that decision.

Lord Chief Justice Brian Kerr told Mr Gallagher, "I am not surprised to hear you express this regarding 'bad character' as it is explicitly clear. It appears to us your course of action is sensible and entirely proper."

Regarding the challenge to low copy DNA evidence it was expected the defence would enlist the assistance of Professor Allen Jamieson of the Forensic Institute Glasgow who gave evidence criticising the use of low-copy DNA at the Sean Hoey trial. However Mr Gallagher again said the defence would not be challenging the use of DNA evidence used at the trial nor contesting it could have been contaminated between being gathered at the crime scene and the forensic laboratory.

'The evidence convicting you was as strong as any I have witnessed in my 35 years on the bench.'

– Mr Justice McLaughlin