Nationality British | Known for Murder victim | |
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Full Name Angela Wrightson Died December 2014
Hartlepool, County Durham Cause of death Murder by beating with household objects inc. shovel, TV, coffee table, stick studded with screws Residence Hartlepool, County Durham Home town Hartlepool, County Durham | ||
Angela Wrightson (1974/75 – 2014) was a woman who lived in Hartlepool, United Kingdom. She was murdered by two teenage girls who cannot be named for legal reasons, in her home in December 2014.
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Background
Wrightson lived on Stephen Street in Hartlepool. She was an alcoholic.
Murder
The second trial found that two girls, aged 13 and 14 at the time of the attack, murdered Wrightson in her home in a "sustained and brutal attack" on the night of 8 December 2014. She was found dead by her landlord the next morning.
Both girls were in the care system at the time.
Legal proceedings
The first trial was held in July 2015. However, due to widespread commentary on the case on social media networks including Facebook, the judge Henry Globe ordered that the trial be abandoned as the case could be prejudiced. This led to reporting restrictions under the Children and Young Persons Act 1933.
Between the first and second trials, media organisations challenged the reporting restrictions in the Court of Appeal.
The second trial was held from February to April 2016 at Leeds Crown Court. Two teenage girls were convicted of the murder and sentenced to a minimum of 15 years imprisonment on 7 April.
Sentencing, the judge ruled that the anonymity of the two perpetrators should be maintained.