'Cold and calculated’ killer jailed for 19 years for strangling pensioner, 76

A “cold, calculated and wicked” killer has been jailed for 19 years after he strangled a pensioner to death and stole his car on New Year’s Eve last year.

Ian Dunne, 44, used the cord from his jogging bottoms to strangle Malcolm Frary, 76, in his own home in Blackpool and then “told lie after lie” to cover his tracks.

Mr Frary’s car was discovered dumped and his mobile phone, the jogging bottom cord and Dunne's camouflage jacket were found near rail tracks close to the pensioner’s house.

Dunne, of Blackpool, was arrested and told police he did not know how widower Mr Frary died, but later admitted killing him.

He was jailed for life, with a minimum term of 19 years, after pleading guilty to murder at Preston Crown Court.

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Mr Frary’s son discovered his father’s body on 1 January after a neighbour said his curtains were closed and there was a broken glass panel in his front door.

Police went to the house at 4.35pm that day and ambulance crews confirmed the pensioner’s death at the scene.

A Home Office post-mortem examination showed the cause of death as strangulation, with detectives launching a murder inquiry.

Evidence quickly linked Dunne to the crime after police discovered Mr Frary had given a family friend a lift to work in his Vauxhall Meriva around 5.40pm on 31 December.

They found that Dunne was also in Mr Frary's car at the time and once the friend had been dropped off, they drove to Mr Frary's home.

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Shortly after, at around 6.20pm, a neighbour saw Dunne knocking on the front door of Mr Frary’s property and 10 minutes later, the Vauxhall Meriva was seen on CCTV being driven away at speed.

Mr Frary’s mobile phone was turned off a short time later, and footage showed a man, believed to Dunne, walking on nearby roads in the direction of Woodstock Gardens.

The next day, Mr Frary’s body was found inside his address.

Officers later found the missing Vauxhall in Woodstock Gardens on 2 January and confirmed the vehicle had been there since New Year’s Day.

Following a local area search, they found a wallet containing Mr Frary’s driving licence, a pair of black gloves in a street drain, his mobile phone on tracks and other items.

When Dunne was arrested, he feigned shock and claimed he had been elsewhere at the time of Mr Frary’s death.

He said Mr Frary had taken him to a friend’s house where he'd spent the night.

But when the evidence was put to Dunne, he refused to comment, and the 44-year-old was later charged with murder.

Detective Chief Inspector Lee Wilson, of the Blackpool CID, said Dunne had shown no remorse and told “lie after lie” in an attempt to frustrate the murder investigation.

He said: “Dunne’s actions were cold, calculated and wicked, he sought to lie and twist the facts repeatedly during the course of the investigation and never showed any remorse or contrition for what he had done.”