A CONVICTED Oxfordshire murderer has died in a crash in Burford.

Thomas Purcell, who was convicted in 2006 of killing 16-year-old Megan McAlorum in Belfast, is believed to have died after being involved in a crash in the Burford area, between Oxford and Cheltenham on March 4.

It is understood that Purcell was driving a car when he was involved in a crash with a van. The driver of the van is recovering from serious injuries.

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Speaking to The Irish News, Thames Valley Police said: “Formal identification of the man who has died will be a matter for the Oxfordshire coroner.”

Purcell, who 16-years-old at the time of the murder, was sentenced for 15 years imprisonment. He was released from prison in 2021.

Miss McAlorum was murdered by Purcell on Easter Sunday 2004 after he offered her a lift while she was walking home from a takeaway.

Her body was later found in a wooded area close to the Glenside Road on the outskirts of west Belfast, with injuries including 54 fractures to her skull.

Purcell had made a report to police after pretending to discover the semi-naked body when returning to the area with two young relatives believed to be aged 12 and 14 the following day.

Before that he had returned to the area on his own to move Miss McAlorum's body into a ditch.

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During the court case it emerged Purcell had previous convictions dating back to 2000 when he made a series of appearances at Oxford Youth Court. His convictions included six robberies, common assault, shoplifting, motoring offences and harassment.

In July 2002, he was convicted of arson after causing £250,000 damage to a thatched Balinese pavilion at Sir Richard Branson's country home, Mill End House, Kidlington.

Since the murder he had been jailed for three years for a knifepoint robbery in Northern Ireland. Mr Justice McLaughlin heard at court in Newry there was evidence Miss McAlorum was raped before she was murdered, but John Orr, prosecuting, said it could not be proved.

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Purcell changed his plea to guilty in April as his trial was due to begin.

In a report drawn up following the plea, he told a psychologist: "I met the girl, we had sex, I got angry and killed her that's all."

Later he elaborated, claiming that after consensual sex 'she looked at me in a sneering way and said I was the first gypsy she had had sex with'.