Friday, Jul. 29, 2011
Milly Dowler
Murder Victim and Hacking Victim
In March 2002, 13-year-old Amanda "Milly" Dowler was abducted while walking home from school in Surrey, England and subsequently murdered. During the search for Dowler's whereabouts Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator working for the News of the World, allegedly hacked into her voicemail — deleting some of the messages and giving the Dowler family hope that she was still alive and checking her phone. After The Guardian published details of the Dowler hacking in early July 2011, public outrage helped prompt News Corp.'s decision to shutter the News of the World, as well as Prime Minister David Cameron's call for an independent investigation into the phone hacking scandal.See why Britain's strict libel laws actually encourage tabloid antics.