A new law to keep killers behind bars if they don't reveal the location of their victims' bodies - inspired by a Merseyside mum's tireless campaigning - was included in today's Queen's Speech.
Helen McCourt was killed in 1988 in St Helens by pub landlord Ian Simms after getting off a bus on her way home from work, one of the first UK cases to be solved using DNA.
Although due for release a decade ago, Simms remains locked up as he continues to deny knowing where he dumped the 22-year-old insurance clerk's body.
Marie McCourt, Helen's mum, has lobbied for years for a change in the law, and this morning in Parliament, it became a step closer to reality.
Her MP Conor McGinn said: "To have Helen's Law included in the Queen's Speech is such a fantastic achievement for Marie McCourt and a testament to her and all those families who have campaigned over many years.
"We are meeting the Justice Secretary later today to discuss the next steps."
Mrs McCourt has recently started a fresh search for her daughter, with new suggestions she could be in Rixton clay pits, in nearby Warrington, 15 miles from Helen's home in Billinge, in a 200-metre zone where Simms held a fishing licence in another man’s name.
Simms was convicted after he was found with blood on his clothes which matched that of Helen’s parents, and her opal and sapphire earring was found in his car.
His bloodstained clothes were recovered from banks of a river, and a knotted strangling flex discovered nearby had teeth marks in it, matching those of the landlord’s dog and hairs identical to Helen’s caught in it.
Clay was found on dad-of-two Simms’ car.
Clothes the 54-year-old dumped two miles away were also covered in clay.
This afternoon, Mrs McCourt spoke to the ECHO as she travelled down to London on the train.
The 76-year-old said: "I feel very very relieved Helen's Law has been included in the Queen's Speech.
"The next thing I need to do is find out when, if possible, it will be in the statute book.
"I'm so glad this law is going through as it's definitely much needed.
"No family should be put through all this pain, it's so difficult to deal with the death of a loved one, and not know the reason. We need answers.
"Killers should not be sat in their prison cells counting down the time to the minimum tariff for release.
"No body, no parole."
Helen's Law was launched in 2015 with a petition attracting 600,000 signatures, which was also backed by the families of murdered Paul Morson 32, killed in 2011, and Chantel Taylor, 27, who was killed and her body dismembered in 2004.
Those families have also had to deal with not finding their loved one's body.
But under new guidelines, parole boards will be required to stop killers from being released if they continue to refuse to reveal the location of a victim's body.
