Jail for man who killed girlfriend and hid her body in a lock-up

Kevin Doherty was convicted of manslaughter. Picture: Met Police

Kevin Doherty, 57, of Cherry Tree Rise, Buckhurst Hill, was convicted of the manslaughter of Jane Harrison today after a jury could not reach a verdict on murder.

He told police he thought the 32-year-old had gone off with another man and made two sham calls to himself, the Old Bailey was told.

Judge Christopher Moss sentenced him to 12 years in prison.

He old Doherty: “Only you know what truly occurred all those years ago - how she died and where her remains lie.”

The couple was last seen in Wood Green. Picture: Met Police

Miss Harrison was last seen shopping with Doherty in Wood Green for a Florida holiday they were due to take two days later in June 1995.

But the prosecution said Doherty killed her, took her body to a lock-up garage and reported her missing the next day.

The body of the mother of two boys has never been found and the evidence against Doherty was only circumstantial, prosecutors said. A few hours after she disappeared, Doherty secretly used his mobile to ring Miss Harrison’s flat in Highbury.

He picked up her phone and was heard to say: “Where are you now?”

Miss Harrison’s babysitter said Doherty looked “sweaty and panicky” and claimed it was Miss Harrison on the phone, saying she would be home later.

Shortly afterwards, the phone rang again when Miss Harrison’s teenage son Ryan had returned home and asked where his mother was.

He heard Doherty say: “Don’t worry, come home.”

Both calls were fabricated, prosecutors said.

Doherty was questioned about her abduction in 1995 but was arrested last year after a murder inquiry was opened.

He told officers he and Miss Harrison had an on-off relationship during the three years they were together, with him sometimes living with his wife.

Doherty told police he dropped her off near her mother’s house in Stoke Newington before going to her flat nearby.

She was a “devoted mother” to Ryan and Taylor, the baby she had with Doherty, the court was told.

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Inspector Dermot Carroll said: “At last Jane’s family have got the justice they have sought.

“Doherty has kept his lie for almost two decades. He has persistently lied to police, Jane’s family and to his own family and friends.

“I only hope now he has the decency to tell us what happened to Jane.”