Julie Hogg is at the centre of ITV’s new drama I Fought the Law, based on a true crime story.

But who was the 22-year-old woman who features so prominently in the harrowing four-part series, starring Sheridan Smith?

Tragically, Julie was the victim of a horrific murder which eventually led to a landmark change in the law – all thanks to her mother Ann Ming.

Here, we take a look at exactly who Julie Hogg was, what happened to her and who killed her.

Who was Julie Hogg?

Julie Hogg was born in Yorkshire in 1967 to parents Ann and Charlie Ming. She had an older brother called Gary and a younger sister, Angela. Shortly after Angela’s arrival, the family moved to Billingham in Stockton-upon-Tees.

Ann has described Julie in her book, For the Love of Julie, as a “mixture of introvert and extrovert”. She says she was shy, but “feisty” in arguments and stood her ground.

When Julie was 16, she met a local boy called Andrew Hogg. The pair married in 1985, when Julie was 18. They moved into their own council property and went on to have a son called Kevin. Ann described her daughter Julie as a “wonderful mum”.

Unfortunately, Julie’s marriage with Andrew didn’t last. In 1989, he moved to London after being given a new job and they separated. In November of that year, Julie began working as a delivery driver for a local pizza shop. Ann and Charlie would look after their grandson Kevin when she was working.

Andrew’s name has been changed to Matthew in I Fought the Law.

When did Julie go missing?

On November 15, 1989, Ann visited Julie’s house and collected Kevin. They agreed he would stay with his grandparents overnight as Julie was working a late shift.

Ann has since revealed in her book how she said she would telephone Julie at 7.30am the following morning. Julie was due to appear in court for a hearing regarding her legal separation from her husband and wanted a wake-up call.

But when Ann tried to call Julie, there was no answer. She drove to her house with Kevin, but again Julie didn’t answer. Ann didn’t have keys to her daughter’s property so, according to crime podcast Infraction, began shouting through the letterbox.

In desperation, Ann phoned Julie’s older brother Gary for help. Once at the house, he went to the back and smashed a window. Gary couldn’t find any keys inside to open the front door, the house was tidy and Julie’s bed was made.

Ann later revealed Julie was very untidy and rarely made her bed. The house had been messy when she had collected Kevin the previous day. Andrew hadn’t heard from her and no one knew where she was.

It took five days for the police to visit the property. It was suggested to Julie’s distraught family that she may have run away in the night.

A team of five forensic officers spent three days combing Julie’s house for evidence. Ann later claims she was told, “there’s no dead bodies in here, if that’s what you mean?” when officers were asked if they’d found anything.

Julie was assumed a missing person and almost three months passed. Andrew, Julie’s estranged husband, was finally handed the keys back to Julie’s house in January 1990.

When was Julie Hogg found? Where was she?

After being given the keys, Andrew went to Julie’s house and noticed an unpleasant smell coming from upstairs. Ann suggested he bleach the toilet, as it had been sat unused for several months.

The following day, Ann went to the property to collect Kevin and take him to playgroup. When she entered the upstairs bathroom, she was also hit with the smell. Having worked as a hospital theatre nurse for much of her career, distraught Ann recognised the stench instantly.

Behind the bath panel, Ann found a body wrapped in a blanket. It was her beloved daughter Julie.

In her book, Ann admits she was so overcome she “punched the police officer” who had told her there were “no dead bodies in the house” when he arrived on the scene. The traumatised mother says she had to be given sedatives from doctors.

Who killed Julie?

Initially, Julie’s estranged husband Andrew was questioned in connection with her murder. But he was released without charge within 24 hours.

Two weeks later, William ‘Billy’ Dunlop was arrested and charged with Julie’s murder. Dunlop was described as an acquaintance of Julie. He lived two streets away and was also best friends with the son of Julie’s next door neighbour.

Dunlop had raised suspicions from police due to his violent history, which tracked back to his childhood.

It was later revealed in court that, on the night of Julie’s murder, Dunlop had been drinking heavily at a stag do. He was thrown out of a rugby club for making unwanted advances towards a female stripper. Furious, Dunlop had a fight with a man outside in the street.

Wandering home, he saw Julie’s lights were on so knocked on her door. A court heard she invited him in but, when she laughed at his injuries from the fight, he lashed out and murdered her. He also sexually assaulted Julie.

When police searched Dunlop’s home, they found Julie’s front door keys underneath his floorboards. They also found a Billingham rugby top with fibres on it matching the blanket Julie had been wrapped in.

Dunlop denied any involvement in Julie’s murder and the case was sent to trial. 

What is ITV’s I Fought the Law based on? 

I Fought the Law is a drama series based on Ann Ming’s real-life campaign to change the UK’s 800-year-old double jeopardy law.

At the time Julie was murdered, it was law that people could never be charged again for a criminal offence they had already been acquitted of. Distressingly, Dunlop had ended up protected by this double jeopardy law.

He had stood trial twice for Julie’s murder but, both times, the jury failed to reach a majority verdict so he was formerly acquitted.

Seven years later, Dunlop was jailed for GBH (grievous bodily harm) after attacking a man and a woman. While inside, he ‘bragged’ about murdering Julie, knowing he was protected by the UK’s double jeopardy law. 

The ancient law meant Dunlop couldn’t be charged twice for the same crime. He could only ever be charged with perjury. In his case, Dunlop was given a further six years for lying under oath during both trials. He couldn’t be charged with murdering Julie.

I Fought the Law follows Ann’s remarkable 15-year campaign to see the double jeopardy law changed so she could get justice for Julie. Thanks to her tireless efforts, Dunlop was the first person to be charged twice with the same crime following the landmark ruling. He was finally jailed for life, with a minimum of 17 years, for murdering Julie in 2006.

How to watch I Fought the Law

I Fought the Law, which stars Sheridan Smith as Ann Ming, will air on ITV1 and ITVX. The mini-series consists of four hour-long episodes.

It begins on ITV at 9pm, Sunday, August 31. All episodes drop on ITVX that morning.

Read more: Cooper and Fry on Channel 5: ‘Mismatched detectives’ from bestselling mystery books brought to life for first time

I Fought the Law will start on ITV1 and ITVX on August 31, 2025.