A Scots pensioner who raped and murdered a vulnerable mother but never revealed where he disposed of her body has died behind bars.
George “Kenny” Metcalff, 72, was handed a life sentence in November 2021 over the killing of Patricia “Patti” Henry. He had carried out a catalogue of crimes against women spanning nearly half a century before murdering his victim Patti, 46, at her flat in Kirkwood Place, Girvan, in South Ayrshire, on November 13 in 2017.
He was convicted of assaulting her “by means to the prosecutor unknown” and causing her injury from which she died. Metcalff had previously assaulted and raped her at an address in Paisley, in Renfrewshire, and carried out attacks and rapes on two other women in Paisley and Kilbarchan, in Renfrewshire.
After the murder at the Girvan flat he attempted to defeat the ends of justice by concealing and disposing of Ms Henry’s body and her personal effects to destroy evidence and avoid arrest and prosecution.
Metcalff is believed to have hid Patti, most likely at a spot he knew between Girvan and Paisley, and possibly dumped her from the back of a hired white van. Despite despite extensive searches, her body has never been found.
After he was jailed, Detective Superintendent Suzanne Chow appealed for him to “do the right thing” and reveal where Patti’s remains are.
Metcalffe began the series of crimes against women when he was aged 21 by raping a teenager at a car park in Gleniffer Braes in 1971 before going on to brutalise victims for years.
Jurors at Metcalff’s earlier trial heard that he first met his victim in 2008 when she became a neighbour of his in Burnfoot Crescent, in Paisley.
She moved to Girvan in 2017 and they made numerous calls and sent texts in the days leading up to the murder but then they stopped.
The Scottish Prison Service confirmed that Metcalff died on August 30, at HMP Barlinnie. The cause of death is currently known.
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