Who is Barry George? Man wrongly convicted over Jill Dando

More than 20 years on, Dando’s killer has not been named and continues to be a key topic in the crime world. 

Streaming giant Netflix is the latest to create a documentary on the topic, titled ‘Who Killed Jill Dando?’

The three-episode documentary sees discussions between those who knew Dando and those who worked on the case. 

Including Barry George, the man wrongly convicted of murdering Jill Dando. 

Who is Barry George?

Born in London, George went to a school for children with educational and behavioural problems and left aged 16 with no qualifications. 

After school, he became a messenger at the BBC Television Centre for five months and later attempted to join the Metropolitan Police.

George later joined the Territorial Army in 1980 and was discharged the following year.

Jill Dando. (Image: PA)

In 1981 he was charged with two counts of indecent assault seeing him serve a three-month sentence. 

George would take on a number of persona’s often inspired by real people including Garry Glitter’s real name Paul Gadd. 

At one point he was ‘Steve Majors’ a stuntman and attempted to jump over four double-decker buses on roller skates, which he did not accomplish. 

In 1982, George as Steve Majors was convicted of attempted rape and served 18 months for a 33-month sentence.

On May 25, 2000, George was arrested for the murder of Jill Dando and charged on May 29, 2000. 

His arrest came after a photo of him wearing a gas mask and holding a blank-firing pistol was found along with a single grain of gunshot residue in his pocket. 

Ahead of the trial, he was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome and psychologists found he had a number of personality disorders. 

Geroge was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment on July 2, 2001.

What happened to Barry George?

After being convicted, George appealed in 2002 but was dismissed and later in 2006 appealed again on new evidence. 

His legal team looked for new evidence from medical examinations and said George was not capable of the crimes due to his mental status. 

After numerous amounts of research and a number of appeals, in 2008 George gained a retrial and was acquitted on August 1. 

Following his acquittal, George attempted to claim compensation for serving eight years in prison. 

Also claiming a ‘miscarriage of justice’ judges decided that George was ‘not innocent enough’ to get a pay-off, saying he had failed a legal test.

Where is Barry George now?

Following his wrongful conviction, George moved to Ireland in hopes of a quiet life. 

Netflix’s new show is set to be one of the first times George discusses Jill Dando on camera.