Triple murderer sentenced to life in prison

Serial killer Joanna Dennehy, from Peterborough, has been ordered to serve the rest of her life in prison for murdering three men before randomly selecting and attempting to kill two others.

Mr Justice Spencer told Dennehy she was "a cruel, calculating, selfish and manipulative serial killer" as he sentenced the 31-year-old at the Old Bailey.

Dennehy, who laughed and smirked as the judge delivered his sentencing remarks, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to the murders of Lukasz Slaboszewski, 31, Kevin Lee, 48, and John Chapman, 56, in and around Peterborough over a 10-day period last March.

Police launched a nationwide hunt to find her after the bodies were discovered in remote ditches in Cambridgeshire but she went on to drive 140 miles to Hereford where she repeatedly stabbed two dog walkers.

Dennehy, of Orton Goldhay, Peterborough, also admitted two counts of attempted murder and preventing the lawful and decent burial of her murder victims.

The killer, who had seemed relaxed throughout the hearing, muttered and smirked as sentence was passed.

Gary Stretch, formerly known as Gary Richards, has been jailed for life and must serve a minimum of 19 years. He had been convicted of three counts of preventing lawful and decent burial and two attempted murders following a trial at Cambridge Crown Court.

Leslie Layton, 37, of Bifield, Orton Goldhay, has been sentenced to a total of 14 years. He had been found guilty of two counts of preventing lawful and decent burial and perverting the course of justice following a trial.

Robert Moore, 56, of Belvoir Way, Dogsthorpe, was locked up for three years. He admitted two counts of assisting an offender.