David McCord (left) and Dean Michael Woods are both on the loose, the police said in two separate appeals (Picture: PA/Department of Justice)
David McCord (left) and Dean Michael Woods are both on the loose, the police said in two separate appeals (Picture: PA/Department of Justice)

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.

Undated handout photo issued by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) of David McCord who is currently unlawfully at large. McCord, who is serving a life sentence for murder, was in the custody of prison staff at a property in the Crumlin Road area of north Belfast on Friday 16th August. He was last seen on the Castlereagh Road at around 4.30pm, and was wearing a green jacket, black tracksuit bottoms, and was carrying a red carrier bag. Issue date: Saturday August 17, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story ULSTER McCord?. Photo credit should read: PSNI/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
McCord was last seen in east Belfast (Picture: PSNI/PA Wire)

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.

Dean Michael Woods
Dean Michael Woods escaped from police custody earlier this week (Picture: Department of Justice)

‘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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