England

ALLEN
Gary Arthur

Active in 1997 and 2018 in England

DID YOU KNOW...

Arresting Fact

Allen arrested for other crimes after each murder

Interesting Fact

Police couldn’t arrest Allen for murder even after he confessed

Talking Fact

Allen told his parole officer he hated sex workers

THE DISPATCH

The Beginning

Gary Arthur Allen was referred to a child psychiatrist at the age of eight for aggressive behaviour towards his younger siblings. At age 14, while she convalesced after an operation, he attacked his mother with an iron bar. In a different attack, Allen grabbed a schoolgirl by the throat and hit her on the head. Allen hated women for a very long time.

The Murders

Samantha April Class

Samantha April Class was a 29-year-old mother of three children who worked int he sex industry. Allen sexually assaulted, beat, stomped and strangled Class before running her over with his car. He then dumped her body.

On October 26, 1997, schoolchildren found her body along the riverbank. Class was naked from the waist and face-down in the muddy embankment, about 10m (33ft) from the shore. Class was one of three area sex workers killed in a 13-month period.

Allen Arrested and DNA Tested, Then Released

After Class’s murder, police appealed to media for help. The killing was featured on Crimewatch, and a £5,000 reward was offered for information. None of this helped get Allen arrested.

In the meanwhile, Gary Michael Allen sold his car to a scrapyard. Allen was arrested on July 6, 1998, for drunk driving. As part of the judicial routine, Allen’s DNA was taken and compared against a database. It matched DNA from semen taken from Class’s body. Police did not arrest Allen for Class’s murder, but instead put him under surveillance.

Allen Arrested for Class Murder

Allen was arrested on November 17, 1998 for questioning in the murder of Class. He was charged on November 22 with her murder.

Allen Acquitted

During the murder trial, Allen admitted he had hired Class as a prostitute, which explained his DNA, but denied killing her. Both prosecution and defense lawyers were surprised when the jury acquitted Allen. Allen was released, given some money and taken to the Sheffield train station.

Melanie (Survivor) & Allen's Incarceration

Melanie, a 24-year-old prostitute, was working near Union Street. The street was part of Plymouth’s Stonehouse Street area, a well-known red-light district. She approached Allen, they agreed on a price, and the two headed together to a quieter area.

When Melanie asked to be paid upfront, Allen attacked her.

During the struggle, Melanie was dragged and beaten. She screamed and drew the attention of a nearby police officer. Allen pushed the officer to the ground and tried to flee, but was caught. He was charged with her attack, and an attack on another prostitute. He was given a 5 year term. Melanie quit the sex industry within a year.

Allen Released Early & Flees

Allen was released early from prison under license, which allowed prisoners to be rehabilitated in the community, before their official release date. Allen was required to wear an electronic monitor because he was considered a high risk to the community. He disappeared on March 10, 2004, from a Camborne hotel after removing the monitor, and turned himself in the next day. Police said he committed no crimes while off surveillance.

Allen Confesses to Class's Murder

Allen was released again after serving a total of almost 10 years. This included extra time added on for various breaches, including the removal of the electronic monitor. In 2010, he moved to Grimsby. Humberside Police launched a year-long undercover investigation, dubbed Operation Misty, into the murder of Class. Double-jeopardy had been scrapped in the UK in 2003, allowing authorities to quash Allen’s acquittal if enough evidence was found for a new trial. After more than 400 hours of secret recordings made by undercover officers, Allen confessed to murdering Class.

He told an undercover officer who was posing as a criminal, that he had killed a sex worker and “dumped [her] in the Humber… That’s just the way I was then,” he said. However, the recordings alone were not sufficient evidence to overturn the acquittal. Allen remained free to kill again.

Alena Grlakova

Alena Grlakova was a mother of four who separated from her husband and children in 2013. She became addicted to drugs, and began working in the sex trade. The 38-year-old met Allen in the Parkgate area of Rotherham in 2016, and they became friends. Grlakova was reported missing by her husband on December 26, 2018.

Arrest & Trial

Allen Arrested For Breaches of Order

Allen was arrested on January 26, 2019 for breaching the order of his release. The South Yorkshire police found a number of items during the search of his property, including a mobile phone. On the phone were images of women whose deaths were similar to Class’s. Allen had also recorded a conversation with Grlakova in which he shouted he would “beat the fucking living shit” out of her. During the investigation, Allen’s neighbours reported that the drains in some neighbourhood homes had become blocked with a “football-sized ball of wet wipes.” Police later said it was from Allen wiping down his flat.

Grlakova Found

Grlakova was found on April 8, 2019 in a stream behind the Fitzwilliam Arms Hotel. She was partially buried and named. Her head had been forced into an unnaturally extended position and her genital area was exposed. Gravel and stones had been placed over some parts of her body. She was decomposing, but the pathologist determined she had died from a neck injury.

Allen Charged with Murder

Police announced they charged Allen with Grlakova’s murder on October 9, 2019. Based on those charges, authorities applied again to overturn Allen’s acquittal in Class’s murder, and a retrial was granted.

Allen Found Guilty

The court found Allen guilty of two murders on June 17, 2021. He was sentenced to two life terms just days later. The minimum term of imprisonment was 30 years in respect of Class’s murder, as it predates changes in the legal system. The minimum of 37 years in respect of Grlakova was also handed down, to be served concurrently. This meant Allen’s minimum term was 37 years, subject to 600+ days he had already spent on remand.

WHERE IT HAPPENED

An interactive map of where things happened

VIDEOS

Videos of the murders and trials of Gary Arthur Allen

Just Thought Lounge

THE STATS

Years Between Last Murder and Conviction

Years Between Murders

Months Before Grlavoka's Body was Found

Statistical table for Gary Arthur Allen

Killer Name	ALLEN, Gary Arthur
Gender	M
Arrest Date	January 26, 2019
Conviction Date	June 17, 2021
Sentence	Life with minimum 30 years; Life with minimum 37 years;
Birth Date	, 1974
Status	Alive or Unknown
Sexual Preference	straight
Marital Status	single
Number of Children	no
Killer Type	Anti-social/misogynist/hate, Territorial
Psychology	referred to a child psychiatrist at the age of eight for aggressive behaviour towards his younger sibling
comment1	killed 2 women, assaulted at least 2 others
comment2	targetted sex workers
comment3	told parole officer of his extreme hatred of prostitutes
comment4	For each murder, he was arrested first on other crimes
Total Dead Victims	2
Victims (Convicted)	2
Victim Gender	F
Victim Race	White
Victim Age	29, 28
Victim Type	Sex worker
Method of Killing	beating, stamping, strangulation, run over with car
Weapon	clothing, car
Sex Assault	Yes
Overkill	Yes
Pose Bodies	Yes
Washing/Water	Yes
Body - Moved, Hidden	Yes
Previous Crimes	Yes, including sexual assault
Previous Prison Time	yes

Killer Rating

 3/5

RESOURCES

Last updated on 26 August 2022 by E. Kelly Hemingway