Two murderers on the run with public warned not to approach them

Two convicted murderers are on the run in Northern Ireland with people warned not to approach them.

David McCord, who is serving a life sentence, was in the custody of prison staff at a property on Crumlin Road in Belfast on Friday afternoon.

The 54-year-old was last seen on Castlereagh Road on the east side of the city at 4.30pm, with police describing him as ‘unlawfully at large’.

At the time of his disappearance, he was wearing a green jacket, a black tracksuit bottoms and carrying a red carrier bag.

McCord was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2004 for the murder of Nicola Dickson the year before.

He strangled and stabbed Nicola in her bedroom in Ballycarry, a village in County Antrim.

People who have seen McCord are urged not to approach him but to phone the police.

Nicola’s loved ones were informed yesterday that her killer has gone missing, the Belfast Telegraph reported.

Her brother Gareth Smyth told the newspaper that his mum had planned to go to Belfast this weekend with her grandchildren.

‘The fact that he’s out and about somewhere, I know she’s worried, but she would never admit that,’ he said.

This comes only days after justice officials also revealed Dean Michael Woods is ‘unlawfully at large’.

Woods – who beat to death Brian Peden with a golf club in Coleraine in 1995 –was on ‘pre-release testing’ when he failed to return to Maghaberry Prison near Lisburn on Tuesday.

The 46-year-old was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1997, with his bds to have his 15-year minimum tariff reduced rejected by the High Court 10 years later.

‘The prisoner had clearly intended to carry out a violent attack,’ Chief Justice Kerr said.

‘He not only armed himself with a potentially lethal weapon, he aimed blows at the victim’s head in a manner calculated to maximise the injury inflicted.’

The Department of Justice say Woods is of a slim build, 5’6″ and has a ‘fresh complexion’.

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