Baby killer acquitted of being in UK illegally when he murdered Hunter McGlennon as he was not properly cautioned by police

Granting an appeal by Sharyar Ali at Newry County Appeal Court, Judge Gordon Kerr KC ruled out a confession by the 35-year-old because he was not properly cautioned by the police.

"It is absolutely clear from the tenor and tone of the questioning throughout the interview, taken as a whole, that this was an offence which was suspected by the police from the outset and one, which in those circumstances, he should have been cautioned for.

"Not only should he have been cautioned for it, but upon admission, he should have been cautioned again and asked to repeat the admission concerned.

"These cases can be a fine line between whether cases should proceed or not proceed. In this case I consider it falls in line of exclusion....it's accepted by the prosecution that the appeal must be successful because the evidence is not sufficient to justify the conviction in this case, and accordingly, I allow the appeal."

Appearing on behalf of Ali, defence counsel Michael Halleron had argued that the Crown couldn’t prove when the Pakistani national had entered the UK, a vital ingredient of the offence against him.

He also argued that any confession should be ruled out as Ali, who at the time was being questioned by murder detectives about the shocking killing of infant Hunter McGleenon, had not been properly cautioned.

A PPS lawyer had argued however that on 26 November, Ali “had the care” of little Hunter and highlighting that Ali “is serving a life sentence for the murder,” she told the court that during police interviews under caution, “he admits that he came here on the 26 November with the baby and the baby was murdered on 26 November when the baby had been in his care.”

Ali told police he had crossed the border to a casino in Monaghan and the lawyer argued that on the day Hunter died, “he came back north and took the baby back to Keady so he had to enter NI illegally.”

Last October Ali, now with an address as Maghaberry prison but previously from Westerna Terrace in Monaghan, was sentenced to a minimum of 13 years behind bars for the shocking murder of 11-month-old Hunter McGleenon on November 26, 2019.

He had been in a relation with Hunter's mother and had been caring for the baby while she went to visit a sick relative in November 2019.

He was about to go on trial at Newry Crown Court in April last year when, with Hunter’s grieving mummy and relatives sitting just a few feet from him, he confessed that he was guilty of murder.

Sentencing Ali last October, Mr Justice McFarland outlined how Hunter’s death was caused by "blunt trauma to the head" and that it was "crystal clear" they were not due to the baby falling off the sofa, as Ali had originally claimed.

He told the court medical evidence confirmed there were 19 areas of head and neck injury to Hunter that "may not relate to 19 separate episodes of trauma, but it does reflect multiple injuries to this area nonetheless".

The judge also said it was the opinion of the assistant state pathologist those injuries had been caused by "either direct trauma, or blows or kicks and/or by shaking of Hunter".

Initially, Ali was ordered to serve a minimum of 13 years behind bars but the PPS appealed that as “unduly lenient” given the vulnerabilities of his victim and accordingly, the Court of Appeal increased the killer’s minimum tariff to 16 years.