Moment drug addict killer arrested after murdering widow in Cannock home on Christmas day

• Body cam footage from Staffordshire Police shows the moment Thomas Grant is arrested

Thomas Grant scoffed and asked police officers "are you joking?" as he was arrested for the murder of a woman who died at her home in the Cannock area on Christmas Day in 2021.

Lucy Clews, aged 39, from West Chadsmoor, was found dead at her home on 29 December 2021, after her mother raised concerns about not hearing from her over the festive period.

Grant, of no fixed address, who's 28-years-old had denied killing Miss Clews at her property, claiming someone else was responsible but refused to tell the court who.

However, he was found guilty of murder by a jury following a five-week trial at Stafford Crown Court.

Today, he was jailed for a minimum of 25 years and seven months.

Grants nonchalant demeanour soon changed to a state of confusion as he repeatedly asked officers, "murder?!"

The court heard how Grant met recently-widowed Lucy on Christmas Eve. She offered him a place to stay over Christmas as he had nowhere else to go.

Grant, a drug addict, then used Lucy’s home as a base, spending several days visiting people he knew, to persuade them to give him money to fuel his habit.

It was the prosecution’s case that Grant stole and sold Lucy’s jewellery – including her wedding ring and a necklace belonging to her late husband – in order to raise money for drugs. He also sold her mobile phone.

A post-mortem examination revealed Ms Clews sustained multiple "severe" stab wounds and had been strangled prior to her death.

He was spotted on CCTV on Christmas Day having left the scene of the murder.