Serial killer Joanna Dennehy given whole life prison term

Serial killer Joanna Dennehy has been given a whole life prison term, after admitting the murders of three men in and around Peterborough, and the attempted murder of two men in a stabbing spree in Hereford.

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Accomplices of serial killer jailed

Gary Stretch Credit: Cambridgeshire Police

The accomplices of serial killer Joanna Dennehy have been sentenced for their role in the killing spree.

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.

Leslie Layton Credit: Cambridgeshire Police

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

Robert Moore Credit: Cambridgeshire Police

Joanne Dennehy, 31, was told she would never be released from prison for the murders of three men, and the attempted murders of two others, in a two-week period at the end of March, last year.

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Dennehy: Third woman handed whole-life jail term

Triple killer Joanna Dennehy has become the 55th person to be given a whole-life jail term and only the third woman.

Dennehy, 31, pleaded guilty to murdering three men and attempting to kill two others.

As her jail term was handed down at the Old Bailey she became the first woman to be given such a sentence by a judge.

Myra Hindley was jailed for life with no minimum. Credit: PA

The two other female killers, who were ordered to die in jail by home secretaries, were Myra Hindley and Rosemary West.

Hindley was jailed for life with no minimum after a 15-day trial in 1966 with her lover Ian Brady, and was once dubbed by the tabloid press "the most hated woman in Britain".

Rosemary West. Credit: PA/PA Archive/Press Association Images

West was convicted for a killing spree with husband Fred, that saw 10 young women murdered.

Victims 'will live with what Dennehy has done for life'

Joanna Dennehy has been ordered to spend the rest of her life in prison Credit: Cambridgeshire Police

Joanna Dennehy's surviving victims will have to "live with what she has done for the rest of their lives" the police officer who led the investigation into the serial killer says.

Dennehy has been given a whole life term in prison while accomplice Gary Stretch has been ordered to spend life in prison for a minimum of 19 years for two counts of attempted murder and three of unlawfully preventing a burial.

Detective Chief Inspector Martin Brunning, from Cambridgeshire Police said:

"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...

"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."

Joanna Dennehy accomplice Gary Stretch sentenced to life in prison

Gary Stretch, formerly known as Gary Richards, will serve a minimum of 19 years in prison Credit: Cambridgeshire Police

Gary Stretch has also been ordered to serve life in prison, with a minimum term of 19 years.

Stretch, 47, from Orton Goldhay, Peterborough was found guilty of the attempted murder of Robin Bereza and John Rogers after helping Joanna Dennehy select her victims in Hereford.

He was also convicted of three counts of preventing the lawful burial of a body at the trial at Cambridge Crown Court.

Stretch, thought to be Britain's tallest serving prisoner at 7ft 3ins, yawned loudly as he was told to stand for sentencing.

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Judge: Dennehy a 'cruel' and 'calculating serial killer'

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

Dennehy was ordered to serve the rest of her life in prison for murdering three men before attempting to kill two others.

Judge Mr Justice Spencer. Credit: Anthony Devlin/PA Wire

She laughed and smirked as Mr Justice Spencer delivered his sentencing remarks.

Dennehy 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.

Detectives 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.

BREAKING: Joanna Dennehy gets whole life tariff

Serial killer Joanne Dennehy will spend the rest of her life in prison after killing three men in and around Peterborough, and attempting to kill two other men in Hereford.

During the verdict being read out by the judge at the Old Bailey, Dennehy laughed in the dock.

The psychopathic killer was sentenced at the Old Bailey today to a whole-life prison term after admitting the three murders and two attempted murders.

She is only the third woman to be handed such a sentence.

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