'Urban survivalist' Alexander Carr jailed for murder of Michelle Hanson at her Sunderland home

A student who sparked a nationwide manhunt when he went on the run after stabbing a grandmother in the neck has been jailed for her murder.

Alexander Carr, 33, admitted murdering Michelle Hanson at her home in Sunderland in late November 2022.

He stabbed her at least 29 times before fleeing the scene and going on the run.

The Sunderland University student was found three weeks later in London, where he had been camping in a tent on an embankment near Upper Holloway railway station.

Ms Hanson, who was a much-loved mother and grandmother, was found dead in her Brady Street home.

Paying tribute to her, daughter Shannon Brown told ITV Tyne Tees: “She was kind, loving. She had a heart of gold. She was clumsy, stubborn, crazy. She was always down to playing, she loved play fighting and things like that. She was just the best, she really was.

"It’s been really, really difficulty. Without my mam here We feel kind of lost. Something is missing but we’re getting there with counselling.

“It’s very hard, we take it day by day.”

During the sentencing hearing at Newcastle Crown Court on Friday 16 June, Ms Brown read a victim impact statement.

She said: “My mam was taken in such a vicious and mindless attack. We believe that her last moments would have been spent in fear.

“To think she welcomed this evil person into her house as a friend is unbearable. He has taken advantage of a vulnerable, kind and loving woman.

“It is horrific to know he towered over her in both height and strength and my mam was defenceless. This is something we must all try and live with.

“Carr stole the last moments I should have had with my mam and I couldn’t say goodbye and never got tell her how much we all loved her. His cowardly actions of running away meant I had to wait over three weeks before I could see my mam in the chapel of rest and I wasn’t able to touch her face or kiss her cheek.

“My mam was a kind and caring woman with a huge heart. She had an infectious smile, a brilliant sense of humour. She was a character and was always vulnerable to people taking advantage of her. But she would never hurt anyone and always saw the good in people.

“We all feel lost without her. I would speak to her regularly, she was the first person I’d turn to if I was happy, sad or angry. She was my best friend. She was my rock.”

Carr, of Wilfred Street, Sunderland, was given a life sentence and will serve a minimum of 19 years and three months before being eligible to apply for early release.

Ms Brown said no sentence would be enough. She said: “Why should be allowed out to make his own life and have a fresh start when my mam can’t.

“I hate him. I know it’s a strong word. I’ve never hated anyone before but I really do.”

Carr pleaded guilty to her murder during a hearing in May.

Carr, who had previously been homeless in London, believed himself to be an “urban survivalist”.

He is thought to have walked a “significant” way from Sunderland and was traced to the Lincolnshire coast, where he was tracked getting on a train to London.

Further searches were carried out in London, where he was found hiding in a tent with a large hunting knife on 21 December.

Nicholas Lumley KC, defending, said Carr had previously been diagnosed with personality disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and psychosis and had been sectioned under the Mental Health Act when he was younger.

Mr Lumley said Carr had written to the judge and admitted: “I knew my mental health issues were getting worse and I wish I had tried to seek out more help, rather than self-medicating with the excess of drugs and alcohol.”

Carr had admitted murder at an earlier hearing, having had a guilty plea to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility rejected.

Carr initially lied to psychiatrists but eventually admitted he had smoked skunk – “which has a high potency” – that night, judge Paul Sloan said.

“You became increasingly anxious and paranoid and believed you were about to be harmed,” he said.

“I have no doubt that the principal reason for your paranoia was your voluntary consumption of skunk in combination with alcohol.

“Your paranoia culminated in a brutal attack upon Miss Hanson.”

Detective Chief Inspector Graeme Barr said: “This has been a horrific ordeal for Michelle’s family and I hope today can help them as they begin to move on with their lives and accept her tragic loss.

“They have shown real courage and strength since this investigation was launched and I want to thank them for all they have done to help us put Carr behind bars for his vile actions.

“Carr has shown no remorse and has never provided an explanation for why he murdered Michelle – a woman who invited him into her home as a friend. He killed her in her own home and then fled thinking we would never catch him. This is evident in the way he speaks to us during his arrest, genuinely shocked that the law had caught up with him.

“Carr’s conviction and sentence shows that violence will never go unpunished and that dangerous people like Carr do not have a place in our communities.

“Michelle had a family and thanks to Carr they now have to live their lives without her and it is only right he now serves a lengthy sentence.

“I’d like to thank everyone who helped us bring Carr to justice for their efforts. From the officers and staff here in Northumbria, to the public who helped with our appeal, as well as our colleagues across the country, including the Metropolitan Police Service and criminal justice teams.”

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