Spree killer is only third woman sentenced to die in prison

Blackleaf

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Oct 9, 2004
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A spree killer has become just the third woman in Britain to be sentenced to spend the rest of her life in prison.

Joanne Dennehy, a diagnosed psychopath who randonly murdered three men, yesterday joined serial killer Rose West and serial child killer Myra Hindley (who died in 2002) as women who were given whole life tariffs.

Dennehy spent the majority of her sentencing sn iggering in the dock at the Old Bailey, but when the judge told her she is to go to prison until she is dead she showed no emotion whatsoever.

She grinned and laughed as Mr Justice Spencer told her she was "a cruel, calculating, selfish and manipulative serial killer" as he handed down the jail term at the Old Bailey.

Like the Rigby killers, her appearance had been delayed pending a review of sentencing after do-gooders at the European Court of Human Rights ruled that whole life terms breached prisoners' human rights.

But earlier this month the UK's Court of Appeal upheld judges' right to imprison the most serious offenders in England and Wales for the rest of their lives.

It is thought that since the Court of Appeal overturned the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights there may now be an increase in murderers being sentenced to die in prison.

Sending her down, the judge revealed how Dennehy - who had enjoyed a "good upbringing" - told a psychologist she killed "to see if I was as cold as I thought I was. Then it got more-ish."

Dennehy previously admitted the murders of Lukasz Slaboszewski, 31, Kevin Lee, 48, and John Chapman, 56, in and around Peterborough, Cambridgeshire over a 10-day period.

She also admitted the attempted murder of two dog walkers, John Rogers and Robin Bereza, in Hereford while on the run from police as well as preventing the lawful and decent burial of her murder victims.

Her three accomplices Leslie Layton, the appropriately-named 7ft 3in Gary Stretch and Robert Moore will serve 14 years (but with a minimum of seven years), a minimum of 19 years and three years respectively.

Sn iggering serial killer Joanne Dennehy becomes only THIRD woman to be given whole-life sentence





The psychopathic murderer laughed as she was sentenced to die in prison. She joins Myra Hindley and Rose West on Britain's list of female whole lifers

Psychopathic serial killer Joanne Dennehy has become only the third woman in British history to be sentenced to a whole-life term after Rosemary West and Moors Murderer Myra Hindley.

The 31-year-old, who murdered three men before randomly selecting and repeatedly stabbing two others in March and April last year, will now die behind bars.

She grinned and laughed as Mr Justice Spencer told her she was "a cruel, calculating, selfish and manipulative serial killer" as he handed down the jail term at the Old Bailey.

Her appearance had been delayed pending a review of sentencing after the European Court of Human Rights ruled that whole life terms breached human rights.

But earlier this month the Court of Appeal upheld judges' right to imprison the most serious offenders in England and Wales for the rest of their lives.

Sending her down, the judge revealed how Dennehy - who had enjoyed a "good upbringing" - told a psychologist she killed "to see if I was as cold as I thought I was. Then it got more-ish."

"Within the space of ten days you murdered three men in cold blood," he added.

"Although you pleaded guilty, you've made it quite clear you have no remorse.

"Only a matter of days later you attempted to kill two more men - victims chosen entirely at random

"Miraculously they survived.

"You claim to feel remorse for those attacks but I have no hesitation in rejecting that.

"You are a cruel, calculating, selfish and manipulative serial killer."

Later the judge added: "The death and destruction you are responsible for has caused untold distress for the families of those killed and of those who survived."

Dennehy previously admitted the murders of Lukasz Slaboszewski, 31, Kevin Lee, 48, and John Chapman, 56, in and around Peterborough over a 10-day period.


Joanne Dennehy (right) stood in the dock with Gary Stretch (2nd left), Leslie Layton (5th left), Robert Moore (centre) and prison officers


Victims: Lukasz Slaboszewski, 31, Kevin Lee, 48, and John Chapman, 56

She also admitted the attempted murder of two dog walkers, John Rogers and Robin Bereza, in Hereford while on the run from police as well as preventing the lawful and decent burial of her murder victims.

At an earlier hearing at Cambridge Crown Court, the killer shouted from the dock that she was sorry for the two attempted murders but expressed no remorse for the killings.

Gary Stretch, 47, who stands at 7ft 3ins, was found guilty of the attempted murder of Mr Bereza and Mr Rogers and three counts of preventing the lawful burial of a body after a trial at Cambridge.

He was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 19 years.

Leslie Layton, 36, was found guilty of preventing the lawful burial of two murder victims and perverting the course of justice.

He will serve 14 years in jail.

A third man, Robert Moore, 55, was jailed for three years for assisting an offender.

The brother-in-law of victim Kevin Lee described Dennehy as a "monster"


Monster: Dennehy


The judge called Dennehy "a cruel, calculating, selfish and manipulative serial killer."

During the trial, prosecutors said Dennehy "cast a spell" over her alleged accomplices and some of her victims as she killed "for fun".

Dennehy was likened to "Uma Thurman from Kill Bill and the woman from the Terminator" by married father-of-two Mr Lee shortly before his death.

At the height of a nationwide man-hunt, she bragged to one witness that she had killed eight people - although no further murders have been detected.

All of the murder victims died from multiple stab injuries, including wounds to the heart.

After his death at a house in Rolleston Garth, Peterborough, on or around March 19, the body of Mr Slaboszewski was stored in a wheelie bin.

At one point a smirking Dennehy showed the body to a teenage girl, prosecutor Peter Wright QC told the court.

Along with Mr Chapman, who was killed in the block of bedsits he shared with Dennehy in Bifield on March 29, his body was later dumped in a ditch near the isolated Thorney Dyke.

Mr Lee was also killed on March 29 in the same house as Mr Slaboszewski.

His body was found wearing a black sequin dress and positioned in a sexual pose in a separate ditch near Newborough, in what Mr Wright described as a "final act of humiliation".

After the Peterborough killings, Dennehy had bragged that she and Stretch were "like Bonnie and Clyde" as they drove 140 miles across the country to search out further victims.

The court heard that she drove to Hereford with Stretch in a Vauxhall Astra registered in the false company name Undertaker and Sons.

Once there the diagnosed psychopath randomly attacked Mr Bereza and Mr Rogers in the street.

Detective Chief Inspector Martin Brunning, who led the investigation into Dennehy's crimes, said: "Three men were brutally murdered in Peterborough and two men were stabbed in West Mercia. We are pleased today their killer and her willing accomplices are now behind bars.

"Joanne Dennehy is a dangerous individual and will never be released.

"She is a sadistic serial killer with a fearsome personality and carried out these brutal attacks of men who posed no threat to her.

"I am relieved her accomplices will also be facing a substantial period of time behind bars.

"Our thoughts are with those families and the surviving victims who have been affected by these people's actions.

"Two of the victims will live with what Dennehy has done for the rest of their lives. I hope today's sentence will provide them with some closure to these devastating events.

"I'd also like to say we are thinking of the Dennehy family who are struggling to come to terms with what Joanne has done and I hope this result means they can also try to move on."


 
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