On a cold, damp January night in 1961, 19-year-old Pearl Gamble made the final goodbye to her Mother an set off excitedly with two friends to the local dance. Little did Mrs Gamble know, it was the last time that she would see her daughter alive...The following day, the naked body of Pearl was discovered in the fields surrounding the small rural hamlet. She had been ferociously attacked: there were stabs wounds on her body and she had been severely beaten around the face. A post-mortem revealed a shocking list of injuries: one of the stab wounds had punctured her hart and would have led to her death had the perpetrator not finished the job by strangulation.This in-depth and intriguing book investigates all aspects of the murder: it looks at the police investigation as it unfolded; it traces the last known movements of Pearl and her friends at the local dance and it analyses the character and strange behaviour of the murderer, Robert McGladdery.McGladdery has been described as a Walter Mitty character who managed to lead the police on a merry dance once he was confirmed as their prime suspect. Strangely, almost everyone in Newry Town knew that he was the only suspect and watched while he was tailed by plain clothes police in an attempt to catch him returning to vital evidence which was concealed away from the murder scene.This gripping investigation tells the tale of a small-town community shattered by a brutal and savage crime. It is an emotive story which concludes with the execution of McGladdery, the last man to be hanged in Northern Ireland. It's a must-read for any true crime fan.

On a cold, damp January night in 1961, 19-year-old Pearl Gamble made the final goodbye to her Mother an set off excitedly with two friends to the local dance. Little did Mrs Gamble know, it was the last time that she would see her daughter alive…The following day, the naked body of Pearl was discovered in the fields surrounding the small rural hamlet. She had been ferociously attacked: there were stabs wounds on her body and she had been severely beaten around the face. A post-mortem revealed a shocking list of injuries: one of the stab wounds had punctured her hart and would have led to her death had the perpetrator not finished the job by strangulation.This in-depth and intriguing book investigates all aspects of the murder: it looks at the police investigation as it unfolded; it traces the last known movements of Pearl and her friends at the local dance and it analyses the character and strange behaviour of the murderer, Robert McGladdery.McGladdery has been described as a Walter Mitty character who managed to lead the police on a merry dance once he was confirmed as their prime suspect. Strangely, almost everyone in Newry Town knew that he was the only suspect and watched while he was tailed by plain clothes police in an attempt to catch him returning to vital evidence which was concealed away from the murder scene.This gripping investigation tells the tale of a small-town community shattered by a brutal and savage crime. It is an emotive story which concludes with the execution of McGladdery, the last man to be hanged in Northern Ireland. It's a must-read for any true crime fan.