Robert Black Is Charged With the 1981 Murder of 9-Year-Old Jennifer Cardy in Northern Ireland, Nearly 30 Years On
Black, a Scottish-born former van driver already jailed in England, was served with summons papers in prison. A first court hearing was set for Northern Ireland.
Published
Nine-year-old Jennifer Cardy was snatched while cycling to a friend's house in Northern Ireland in 1981. Nearly 30 years later, on December 16, 2009, Robert Black was charged with her murder.
Black, 62, originally from Scotland and living in England, was working as a van driver in Northern Ireland when Jennifer disappeared, RTÉ News reported. Summons papers were served on him at a prison in England the day before, and his first hearing was expected in Northern Ireland at the end of January. Jennifer, from Ballinderry, Co Antrim, vanished in August 1981, and her red bike was later found in a field close to her home. At a time of deep division during the Troubles, the search for her united communities. Two fishermen found her body six days later at McKee's Dam near Hillsborough, about 10 miles from where she vanished. Her family said they did not wish to comment.
Black was already serving life sentences for the murders of three young girls: Susan Maxwell, 11, in 1982; Caroline Hogg, 5, in 1983; and Sarah Harper, 10, in 1986. On January 22, 2010, he appeared at Lisburn Magistrates' Court charged with kidnapping and murdering Jennifer, and the case was sent to Craigavon Crown Court. He was convicted of her murder in October 2011.
Sources
- Man charged with 1981 murder of Jennifer Cardy, RTÉ News
- Robert Black accused of 1981 murder, The Scotsman
- Pedophile serial killer convicted of murdering nine-year-old Northern Ireland girl, IrishCentral
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