ROBERT HOWARD: CHILD KILLER AND SEX OFFENDER FROM DEPTFORD AND NORTHFLEET DIES IN CUSTODY

In a somber development, Robert Howard, a convicted child murderer and sex offender with ties to Deptford and Northfleet, has passed away while in custody at a hospital in England. The 71-year-old Irish-born individual was serving a life sentence for the brutal rape and murder of 14-year-old Hanna Williams from London, whose body was discovered in 2002. Howard’s criminal history and the heinous nature of his crimes have left a lasting scar on the communities involved.

Howard’s death occurred at HMP Frankland, located in County Durham, where he was an inmate. According to a statement from a UK Prison Service spokesperson, Howard was pronounced dead at 1:55 pm on a recent Friday. The official added that, as is standard procedure, an investigation into his death would be conducted by the independent Prisons and Probation Ombudsman. It is believed that Howard died of natural causes, bringing closure to a long and troubling chapter.

Howard’s criminal record is extensive and deeply disturbing. His most notorious conviction was for the murder of Hanna Williams, a girl from Deptford who disappeared in April 2001. Hanna, who lived with her mother, vanished from her home, and her body was not discovered until ten months later. Her remains were found by a worker at the disused Blue Circle cement works in Northfleet, where he noticed a foot protruding from a roll of blue tarpaulin. The girl had been strangled with a 12-meter rope, likely shortly after her disappearance. The investigation led police to Howard, who was from Mottingham in south London, and who had known Hanna since 1999 through her friendship with his girlfriend, a resident of Northfleet.

Howard was arrested on March 23, 2002, just eight days after Hanna’s body was found. Evidence revealed that he had a disturbing pattern of predatory behavior towards young girls, and he was willing to use extreme violence to satisfy his desires. Police checks uncovered a long history of sexual offenses dating back to 1964, although Howard was not on the sex offenders register because his convictions predated the register’s establishment in 1997. His criminal activities spanned decades, highlighting a persistent pattern of abuse.

In addition to his conviction for Hanna Williams’s murder, Howard was also a suspect in the 1994 disappearance of Arlene Arkinson, a 15-year-old girl from Castlederg, County Tyrone. Arkinson was last seen alive in a car driven by Howard after attending a disco in Bundoran, County Donegal. Despite extensive searches over the years, her body has never been recovered, and she has been presumed dead for over two decades. Howard faced charges related to her disappearance but was acquitted in 2005. The case remains one of the most troubling aspects of his criminal history.

Howard’s legal battles continued into later years. In December 2011, he challenged the decision to hold an inquest into Arlene Arkinson’s death, claiming that the move was an attempt to undermine his earlier not guilty verdict. However, a High Court judge dismissed his application, reaffirming that the inquest would proceed. The inquest aimed to shed further light on the circumstances surrounding Arkinson’s disappearance, which remains unresolved to this day.

Howard’s life and crimes have left a lasting impact on the victims’ families and the communities of Deptford, Northfleet, and beyond. His death marks the end of a notorious chapter in the history of criminal justice in the UK, but the scars of his actions continue to resonate. Authorities have assured the public that investigations into his death will be thorough, and the pursuit of justice for his victims remains a priority.