George Heron, the innocent man blamed for Nikki Allan's death

The innocent man blamed for Nikki Allan’s death: How neighbour who was cleared at trial for seven-year-old girl’s murder feared for his life and was ‘utterly ruined’ by the claim – but is now vindicated as the real culprit is convicted

George Heron’s life has been ruined by the suspicion he got away with murdering Nikki Allan.

The 24-year-old was a near neighbour in the same block of flats who stood trial for her murder in 1993 and was cleared by a jury after a taped confession to police was ruled inadmissible by a judge and kept secret from jurors.

The furore and threats that followed effectively forced him into exile and for the best part of three decades he has been estranged from his family, probably living under a new name in an unknown location.

A jury’s guilty verdict against another man means he is safe to reveal himself again if he so wishes.

Police have been in regular contact with him in recent years and he is set to receive a formal apology.

George Heron was a near neighbour of Nikki Allan in the same block of flats who stood trial for her murder in 1993

The body of Nikki Allan was discovered in Sunderland near her family home in October 1992

But the trial of David Boyd has opened a can of worms for Heron’s wider family who lost touch with him fearing he was a killer.

A relative, who asked not to be named, told the Mail: ‘When I first heard about his arrest, I hoped it wasn’t true but we heard he had confessed so thought it may be that he did it, after all.

‘He must have had threats, he must have been beaten, because of the accusations. His siblings were very emotional. They had death threats, people were threatening their children. That part of the world is quite brutal, especially if a person is accused of such a crime.

‘For him to live through that, it must have been so hard, even for his mum who stuck by him. She probably knew all along it wasn’t true.’

Convicted paedophile David Boyd (pictured), 55, was on trial for murdering Nikki Allan in 1992

Police footage of David Boyd was arrested for the murder of Nikki Allan was shown to jurors

The relative blames police for finding ‘the first person they could blame and causing that person’s life to be utterly ruined.’

Heron, who had moved into his sister’s flat three months earlier, knew Nikki and a knife at his home was said to be consistent in size to wounds on her body. 

There were also suggestions he had bloodstains that night. But the evidence against him was flawed and he was effectively stitched up by incompetent police.

Another family member recalls seeing Heron for the last time at his house not long after he was cleared.

A teenager at the time, he said: ‘We asked him things like ‘do you know anything and what actually happened’ and the only response we got, the only thing we got out of him was ‘look at my eyes, what do the eyes tell you.’

The crime scene in the Old Exchange Building in Sunderland where Nikki was killed in 1992

Police outside the Sunderland warehouse where the body of schoolgirl Nikki was found in 1992

After being found not guilty of murder at Leeds Crown Court in 1993, Heron, a Roman Catholic and bachelor who was described as a ‘loner’, said publicly ‘I did not kill Nikki.’ 

Adding he remained in fear of his life: ‘I’m glad to be free, but I will still be living in fear for a long time yet. I watch every face and I am still very unsure of anyone I don’t know.’

In 1996 a Sunday newspaper tracked him down to Reading where he was working as a hostel care worker.

He insisted he had been falsely accused and said: ‘There were times I wondered if I had killed Nikki. So many people said I had that I started to doubt myself. I confessed because the police put me under so much pressure.’

Nothing has been heard of him publicly since.

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