‘A dangerous and violent man’, Gary Allen walked free from court 20 years ago when jurors cleared him of murder. But police, reporters and victims who survived his wrath never doubted his guilt. It would take two decades of investigations, a change in the law and the testimony of a woman who fought for her life when the two came face to face to finally cage the killer who nearly got away with murder. It was a typical working night for 24-year-old Melanie (not her real name) in April 2000.
Plymouth’s Stonehouse Street area:
She’d just been approached by a man “lingering around, looking for business” yards away from the hubbub of Union Street in Plymouth’s Stonehouse Street area – notorious for red-light activity at the time. The customer sported a lengthy blue coat, jeans, white trainers and long, swept-back hair with “a bit of stubble” on his face. They agreed a price and walked to a quiet part of the street, holding hands as they passed a police van so they’d look like a couple. When Melanie asked to be paid upfront, Gary Allen demeanor “switched” and he grabbed her by the neck. “Gary Allen was calling me awful names… it was just rage. He obviously wanted to hurt me badly and I don’t even know why,” she says.
Gary Allen:
“He got me in a headlock and dragged me back and I fell on to the floor. Then he was just punching me in the back of my head. He tried to put his whole fist in my mouth so I bit him. He still carried on hitting me and I was just screaming – ‘Someone help! Someone help me!’ – screaming and screaming.” The noise drew the attention of a nearby policeman. Spooked, the attacker ran away and pushed an officer to the floor before he was caught. Had it not been for the man in blue, Melanie, now 45, believes she would not be alive today.
“I don’t know where I got the strength from that night but I was fighting for my life. I knew if I didn’t get away, I was going to be killed,” she says. Melanie’s assailant Gary Allen was charged and sentenced to five years in prison for attacking her and another sex worker. The day she gave evidence at Plymouth Crown Court, Melanie was shocked to learn from a police contact about the Gary Allen dark secret – a murder charge from which Gary Allen had walked free.