Ex-soldier who tortured, raped and killed mother and girl gets 32 years

A CONVICTED sex offender who tortured and murdered a woman and her young daughter has been branded "evil personified" by the family of his victims.

Former soldier Thomas Smith, 26, was jailed yesterday for a minimum of 32 years for the horrific attacks on Diane Fallon, 43, and her daughter Holly, ten, in Ayrshire last year. He tied up his victims, raped Holly and bit Mrs Fallon's body before strangling them at a house in the village of Cronberry, near Cumnock.

The mother and daughter disappeared on 28 March after attending a village fete. Their bodies were discovered 11 days later.

Unemployed Smith, who was convicted of indecent assault in May 2006 at Teesside Crown Court, lived next door to his victims at the time of his attack.

At the High Court in Glasgow yesterday he was sentenced to life in prison for both of the murders and told he must serve 32 years before being considered for parole.

After the sentencing, Mrs Fallon's sister, Deborah Weir, said: "There are no words in the human vocabulary which can describe the evil that stood in the dock today. He is evil personified.

"He has taken the lives of two innocent people in a most brutal and horrific manner. Diane, a loving mother, daughter, sister and aunt, and Holly, a beautiful sister, grand-daughter, niece and cousin. Their loss has had a huge impact on us as a family. Our lives will never be the same again, there will always be something missing."

Smith invited Mrs Fallon and her daughter round to his flat to play snooker. During the investigation, police found Holly's diary which had an entry stating: "28/03/09 8:15pm Dear diary, I am in Tom's house. My mum and he are playing snooker. I want to play and I hope I can. Love you, Bye."

The mother and daughter's bodies were found on 8 April near the A70, near the Lugar River and the Templand Viaduct, just over a mile from their home. The two were last seen on Smith's 26th birthday, 28 March last year.

Police also confirmed yesterday that a review would take place into the management of Smith as a sex offender.

Asked how long police had known Smith was a sex offender, Detective Chief Superintendent John Mitchell of Strathclyde Police said: "He was convicted of a sexual offence back in 2006. He did move into our area a couple of years ago and clearly we were aware at that time. It's fair to say at this stage that Strathclyde Police are undertaking a review into the circumstances around the management of Thomas Bernie Smith as a sex offender."

Mr Mitchell said he had not seen a case like it in 32 years' police service.

On the day of their disappearance the Fallons helped at a fete before going to Smith's house in the evening. On 8 April, Smith went to a police station in Cumnock and told officers he "accidentally killed them".

Police divers found Holly's body submerged beneath rocks under a bridge and her mother's in undergrowth outside the village of Craigens near to the bridge.

But Lord Turnbull said Smith had not explained why he had tortured the mother and daughter. He added:

"Ordinary language cannot adequately describe the level of violence which you engaged in. What you did to each of your victims is, to my mind, more properly described as sadistic torture.

"In perpetrating these crimes, you have set a benchmark for atrocity below which it is difficult to imagine any other human being sinking."