Britain's youngest female double murderer jailed
Britain’s youngest female double murderer was given a life sentence today for killing her father and a woman in separate incidents when she was just 15.
A judge said Lorraine Thorpe had been brought up “with no real understanding of what is right and what is wrong”.
She was convicted of taking part with 41-year-old Paul Clarke in the murders of Desmond Thorpe and Rosalyn Hunt last August.
Ms Hunt, 41, was beaten to death in Ipswich over several days, with Thorpe responsible for kicking, punching and stamping on her head.
Mr Thorpe, 43, a “vulnerable” alcoholic, was smothered amid fears that he would tell the police about the first murder.
Thorpe, now 16, of Clapgate Lane, Ipswich, was told she must serve at least 14 years behind bars as she was sentenced at the Old Bailey today.
Mr Justice Saunders said she could be “manipulative” and was not acting entirely under Clarke’s control, adding: “She found violence funny and entertaining.”
Clarke, of Mountbatten Court, Ipswich, has already been jailed for life with a minimum term of 27 years.
Thorpe became Britain’s youngest convicted female double murderer after the pair’s trial at Ipswich Crown Court, which ended last month.
Mary Bell, detained at the age of 11 in 1968 for the manslaughter of two boys aged three and four, remains the youngest female killer.
The youngest girl to be convicted of a single murder was Sharon Carr, just 12 when she killed trainee hairdresser Katie Rackliff in 1992.
