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9. UK - The Peterborough Ditch Murders - PODCAST
Joanna Dennehy Teaser
The Peterborough ditch murders were a series of serial murders which took place in Cambridgeshire, England in March 2013. All of the victims were male and died from stab wounds. The bodies of all three men were discovered dumped in ditches outside Peterborough. The perpetrator was Joanna Dennehy, a local woman who was later sentenced to life imprisonment with a whole life order.
Contents
- 9 UK The Peterborough Ditch Murders PODCAST
- Joanna Dennehy Teaser
- Court proceedings
- Victims
- Victim selection and motives
- After the trial
- Escape plot
- References
Court proceedings
In November 2013, Joanna Dennehy pleaded guilty to all three murders and two further attempted murders. Her sister Maria was unsurprised by the guilty plea and said, "I think she did that to control the situation. She likes people to know she's the boss." Dennehy has been held at HM Prison Bronzefield. Assessing psychiatrists later diagnosed Dennehy with psychopathic, anti-social and borderline personality disorders.
Two men, Gary Stretch (formerly known as Gary Richards), 47, and Leslie Layton, 36, stood trial charged with a range of crimes assisting Dennehy, 31. Neither agreed to enter the witness box, give sworn evidence or face cross-examination. The jury began considering their verdict on 4 February 2014. On 10 February Richards was found guilty of attempted murder. Layton was found guilty of perverting the course of justice. On 12 February Layton and Richards were convicted of all other charges.
On 28 February 2014 at the Old Bailey, Dennehy was sentenced to life imprisonment. The trial judge, Mr Justice Spencer, recommended that she should never be released due to the premeditation of each murder. Spencer said further that Dennehy was sadomasochistic, and lacked the normal range of human emotions. Dennehy is believed to be one of just three women in the United Kingdom to be to be given life imprisonment without parole, after Myra Hindley and Rosemary West.
Richards was also sentenced at the Old Bailey alongside Dennehy to life imprisonment with a recommended minimum term of 19 years. Layton was sentenced to a total of 14 years, and Robert Moore, 55, who admitted to assisting an offender, received a three-year prison sentence.
Victims
Kevin Lee was a property developer, landlord and lover of Dennehy. He was killed on 29 March 2013, and his body found the next day near Newborough. Dennehy dressed Lee's body in a black sequined dress before dumping his corpse. Lukasz Slaboszewski and John Chapman were both housemates of Dennehy. Slaboszewski, a Polish national, was killed on 19 March, and Chapman on 29 March. They were both found on 3 April near Thorney with stab wounds.
After the killings, Dennehy and Richards drove to Hereford where she stabbed two men, both of whom survived. One of them, John Rogers, died of unrelated causes in November 2014.
Victim selection and motives
Dennehy specifically targeted men during her killing spree, telling Lloyd that she did not wish to kill a woman and especially not a woman with children. Lloyd stated Dennehy had wanted to kill nine men in total, seeking to be like Bonnie and Clyde. Dennehy hunted and stabbed men for the purpose of entertainment, telling Stretch, "I want my fun. I need you to get my fun." She later told a psychiatrist that she had found murder to be "moreish" and that after the first killing she "got a taste for it."
After the trial
After the trial it emerged that the Probation Service was supervising Dennehy at the time of the murders as she had been convicted of assault and owning a dangerous dog. It was subsequently concluded that the staff dealing with her were insufficiently experienced.
Escape plot
While Dennehy was on remand before the trial prison staff found an escape plot in her diary. This involved killing or seriously injuring a prison guard, cutting off one of the guard's fingers and using the amputated finger to fool the biometric system in the prison. Dennehy was placed in solitary confinement from September 2013 (before the court proceedings) to September 2015 (after the proceedings) because of the above plot. She claims isolation left her 'tearful and upset' and led to self harm.
The High Court rejected Dennehy's claim that her human rights had been violated. Government lawyers argued isolation was necessary due to the nature of Dennehy's offences and the risk she could pose to the public if she were to escape. Mr Justice Singh found solitary confinement was "in accordance with law (...) at all material times it has been necessary and proportionate". Joanna Dennehy is currently incarcerated in Bronzefield Prison, Surrey.