Trial over murder of Hull mum continues

The trial of a man accused of murdering two women 21 years apart is underway for the second time, after he admitted one of the killings to an undercover officer.

Gary Allen, 47, is accused of strangling Samantha Class, a 29-year-old mother from Hull.

Her body was sadly discovered by three schoolchildren on the banks of the Humber Estuary in 1997.

Mr Allen was subsequently arrested in July 1998 after he was stopped on suspicion of drink-driving.

He told officers he drove to the red light area of Hull on 25 October 1997, where he paid Ms Class £30 for sex.

He added that she “got angry”, and that he last saw her walking away from his car some time between 00:30 and 01:00.

Mr Allen was acquitted of Ms Class’s murder in February 2000, but he was later convicted of attacking two sex workers.

Significant evidence has since emerged.

Now, a jury at Sheffield Crown Court has heard how Mr Allen told an undercover officer that he had killed a woman and “dumped her in the drink”.

They were also told that Mr Allen had a “strong dislike of sex workers”.

But Mr Allen denies the murders of Ms Class and Alena Grlakova, 38. Both women worked in the sex industry at the time of their deaths.

A pathologist found Ms Class had been stamped on, strangled with a ligature and run over with a car before her body went in the water.

He added that semen found inside Ms Class’s body matched Mr Allen’s DNA.

Prosecutor Alistair MacDonald told jurors Mr Allen’s previous acquittal should have “no bearing on your decision in this trial”.

“There is significantly more evidence now than there was then and, as we say, that alone makes the evidence different in this trial,” he added.

Mr Allen denies two counts of murder.

The trial is expected to last about eight weeks.

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