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19/07/96 - Terror reign of
the giant loner
The Mirror
Giant Howard Hughes was a practically toothless weirdo
who sparked fear and mistrust wherever he went.
The 6ft 8in hulk leered at women and girls, infuriated
neighbours with his loud music and twice fired guns
to terrorise families.
One woman said yesterday: "If you saw him in the
street, you would cross over to avoid him."
Another, who complained to police when her little girl's
underwear vanished from the washing line, claimed cops
replied: "Oh, it's only Mad Howard. He'll calm
down. He hasn't done enough to be prosecuted."
Even Hughes's dad Gerald admitted: "Howard was
not a normal child.
"One of the problems - which was obvious - was
that he was a child trapped in a man's body. He was
certainly mentally younger than his physical size."
Gerald and his wife Rene were ecstatic when she gave
birth to Howard in 1965 after producing three girls.
But problems soon loomed. While he soared in height,
he was slow at learning, moving from school to school.
At one point he spent six months at Conwy Primary,
where Sophie's mum Julie went as a child.
A former pupil said: "He towered over us and looked
so spooky.
"To put it bluntly, he was slow and dopey. But
he was really frightening when he got angry."
Neighbour Liz Kelly recalls loner Hughes removing fence
panels to light giant bonfires.
But she was shocked when he terrified her daughter
Christina, 11, and a pal.
They were sleeping in a Wendy House at the bottom of
their garden when he pounded the fence and fired a starting
pistol.
Shameen Holland-Adams, 24, the mum who complained to
police, said neighbour Hughes threw petrol bombs and
bottles at her and threatened to rape and kill her.
On another occasion he fired a gun after vowing to "blow
her head off." |
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