Girl who killed her Norfolk-born father fails in appeal against conviction for his murder

By David Bale - EveningNews24.co.uk

Monday, April 18, 2011

A girl who smothered to death her Wroxham-born father with a cushion has failed in her appeal against her conviction for his murder.

Lorraine Thorpe, of Ipswich, who is thought 
to be Britain’s youngest female double murderer, was found guilty at 
Ipswich Crown Court in August 2010 of murdering her father Desmond Thorpe and a woman called Rosalyn Hunt. She was 15 at the time of the killings.

Thorpe, now 16, was convicted along with Paul Clarke, 41, from Ipswich.

The Appeal Court last week rejected their appeals in relation to Mr Thorpe's murder.

Mr Thorpe, who was one of 11 children, was born and grew up in Wroxham and it was previously reported that his brother Colin Thorpe lived in Old Catton.

Lawyers for Thorpe and Clarke told the Court of Appeal the convictions for his murder were unsafe and should be overturned.

During their trial at Ipswich Crown Court, jurors heard evidence from a young friend of Thorpe's who said the girl had confessed to being a murderer.

A prison padre also told the jury she had spoken of her father's killing on the anniversary of his birthday.

Lawyers for the pair claimed that this evidence was inadmissible, although they did not challenge the guilty verdicts over the murder of Mrs Hunt, 41, a mother-of-two.

The pair's trial had heard how in August 2009 Thorpe and Clarke violently tortured Mrs Hunt before killing her.

They then killed Mr Thorpe because they feared he might tell others about her murder. Mrs Hunt and Mr Thorpe were both members of the street-drinking community in Ipswich.

Lord Justice Hughes, sitting with Mr Justice Treacy and Mr Justice Edwards-Stuart, told the Appeal Court that they had no doubt the conviction was safe.

Thorpe will be able to apply for parole after 14 years behind bars, while Clarke's minimum jail term is 27 years.

Double murderer aged 15: Girl given life sentence

By Paul Cheston - Standard.co.uk

September 7, 2010

Britain's youngest female double murderer was ordered to be detained for a minimum 14 years at the Old Bailey today.

Lorraine Thorpe was just 15 when she killed her father, who was in her care.

She also murdered mother-of-two Rosie Hunt who was kicked and punched over several days, suffering multiple fractures and nine broken ribs.

Thorpe, who was on the run from social services at the time, and her co-defendant Peter Clarke, 42, were convicted of both murders in Ipswich in August last year. Clarke was jailed for a minimum of 27 years last month.

Thorpe, now 16, joins a small group of Britain's most evil women killers. They include:

Mary Bell, who was 11 when she strangled two boys in Newcastle. She was convicted of manslaughter in 1968.

Sharon Carr was 12 when she stabbed 18-year-old Katie Rackliff 32 times in the street in Farnborough. She was convicted of murder aged 17 in 1992.

Myra Hindley was found guilty in 1966 of murdering two boys and being an accessory in Ian Brady's murder of a third child in the Moors Murders. Twenty years later they confessed to killing two other children.

Rosemary West was 42 when she was convicted in 1992 of murdering 10 girls and young women with her husband Fred, mostly at their home in Cromwell Street, Gloucester.

Thorpe and Clarke's two murders took place amid the violence and stealing culture of Ipswich street drinkers of which Thorpe was a part from the age of 13.

Her parents had split up when she was 12 and she went to live with her alcoholic father in various squalid flats, evading social services.

Clarke, a bully and the central figure among the drinkers, had a relationship with Ms Hunt, 41. He killed her, furious that she had allowed a dog to attack a child. Mr Thorpe, 43, was killed to stop him going to the police.

Sentencing Thorpe today, Mr Justice Saunders described her as "stubborn, wilful, highly manipulative and bright but also immature and childish even for her young age".

He said there was no doubt she cared for and loved her father but he refused to accept that she had been completely under the dominant influence of Clarke.

"Her story is an appalling one and her case is rightly described as wholly exceptional," said the judge. "She spent all her time with middle-aged alcoholics to whom violence was the norm" as they fought each other "and stole to get the drink which they craved". The judge said Thorpe had played a "full part" in the murder of Ms Hunt and an attempt to cover it up.

"She appeared to have glorified in it and described to a friend how she stamped on Rosie's head," he said.

"At the time of his death her father was a hopeless alcoholic, unable to walk unaided or do anything for himself in his weakened state. Not only was he extremely vulnerable but his daughter had accepted the care of him."

The judge sentenced Thorpe to be detained at Her Majesty's pleasure, the juvenile equivalent of a life sentence, and said she would not be released until the parole board was satisfied she was no longer a danger.

Britain's youngest female double murderer jailed

Britain's youngest female double murderer has been given a life sentence for killing her father and a woman in separate incidents when she was just 15.

Telegraph.co.uk

September 7, 2010

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.

The judge said Clarke was the "instigator" in the murder of Ms Hunt, also an alcoholic, although Thorpe "played a full part".

"She was responsible for protracted kicking, punching and stamping on Rosalyn, who was not fit to defend herself effectively from the outset. By the end of those attacks she was completely helpless.

"Far from being sorry, Lorraine appears to have gloried in it, describing to her friends at one stage how she stamped on Rosalyn's head."

Thorpe's father was a "hopeless alcoholic" and "very vulnerable person" unable to walk unaided or do anything for himself, and she was his carer.

"He died by being smothered to death," said the judge.

"The only possible explanation for his death can be the fear that he would go and tell the police what happened to Rosalyn Hunt."

Thorpe was influenced by being in the company of Clarke, the "dominant" member of a group of heavy drinkers, and would try to impress him, said the judge.

But he added: "I don't accept that she was entirely under the control of Mr Clarke. She is someone who can be quite stubborn and wilful and is capable of being highly manipulative herself."

The judge said the case was "exceptional" and said of Thorpe: "Her story is an appalling one."

The court heard that Thorpe's parents split up when she was 12 and she initially lived with her mother before going to look after her father at 13.

Father and daughter would move "from one squalid flat to another", sometimes even living in tents.

"She was spending all her time with middle-aged alcoholics to whom violence had become normal. It had become part of their way of life. The alcoholics fought with each other. They stole in order to get the drink they craved," said the judge.

Thorpe stopped going to school and stopped taking the medication she needed to treat her attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

"Social services were unable to keep track of her. When she was placed in a school, she escaped and went back to her father," said the judge.

All the evidence was that they "loved each other very much".

Through drinking they met Clarke and lived at his flat for a time.

Thorpe was growing up in "totally the wrong place and atmosphere to bring up a young girl", said the judge.

"She has been left with no real understanding of what is right and what is wrong," he added.

"No-one who heard the evidence in this case could doubt for a moment that she has had immense difficulties in her life.

"To describe her upbringing as not being a proper upbringing would be an understatement but it has left her as a violent young woman and a highly manipulative young woman as well."

Graham Parkins QC, defending, said: "Lorraine was vulnerable herself, both physically and in terms of her emotional well-being.

"It was highly inappropriate for this young girl to be playing a role of carer to her drunken and indeed very frail father.

"She never really had much of a chance in life."

Mr Parkins said there seemed to have been "little supervision" of her and she had been "left to her own devices".

Double Suffolk killer must serve 27 years in jail

Eadt.co.uk

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

KILLER Paul Clarke was today sentenced to serve at least 27 years in prison for a double Suffolk murder.

A killer was jailed for a minimum of 27 years today for jointly committing two Suffolk murders.

Paul Clarke, 42, of Mountbatten Court, Ipswich, was sentenced this morning at Ipswich Crown Court.

Yesterday, he was convicted along with 16-year-old Lorraine Thorpe of being involved in the brutal murders of two alcoholics - Thorpe's father Des and 41-year-old Rosie Hunt who died within days of each other last summer.

During a seven-week trial Ipswich Crown Court heard that Mrs Hunt, a mother-of-two, and Mr Thorpe were both members of the street-drinking community in Ipswich and in the period leading up to their deaths they had spent their time with fellow drinkers at Clarke's flat in Mountbatten Court or at Mrs Hunt’s flat in Victoria Street in the town.

The jury was told that Mrs Hunt, who at one time had a relationship with Clarke, had been killed after he blamed her for his dog attacking a child and Des Thorpe had been murdered to silence him after he threatened to tell the police what had happened to Mrs Hunt.

Clarke, 41, and Lorraine Thorpe both denied murdering Mrs Hunt between August 1 and 10 last year and murdering Mr Thorpe on August 10.

The jury unanimously found them guilty of Mrs Hunt's murder and guilty of Mr Thorpe's murder by majority verdicts of 10-2 after more than 17 hours of deliberations.

A third defendant, John Grimwood, 28, of Canham Street, Ipswich, had denied murdering Mrs Hunt and was acquitted by the jury.

After yesterday's verdicts the trial judge Mr Justice Saunders adjourned sentence on Clarke until today and adjourned sentence on Thorpe, until next month for a pre-sentence report.

A court order had banned Lorraine Thorpe, of Ipswich, from being named in media reports because of her age but after yesterday's convictions the judge said it was in the public interest to lift the court order.

During the trial the court heard that two days before she was killed Mrs Hunt, who was described as vulnerable and a long-term alcoholic, had been tortured by Clarke and Lorraine Thorpe after Clarke accused her of hitting his dog.

Witnesses described Mrs Hunt being repeatedly kicked and punched in the head, being whipped with a dog chain, having her hair set alight with a cigarette lighter and having salt rubbed in her open wounds.

On the day of her death Clarke had been furious after his dog attacked a child in Ipswich town centre and together with Lorraine Thorpe subjected Mrs Hunt to further violence which led to her death.

Her body was found five days later after a worried neighbour called the police and a post-mortem examination showed she had died from a heavy blow to her neck/chest area. She was also found to have multiple external injuries to her body and nine broken ribs.

After Mrs Hunt's death Clarke and Lorraine Thorpe had collected Des Thorpe from Mountbatten Court and had gone with him to a friend’s flat in Limerick Close, Ipswich.

Patricia Lynch, prosecuting, said that prior to Mr Thorpe's death on August 10 he had been subjected to repeated incidents of violence by his daughter and Clarke and that he died after being smothered with a cushion because he threatened to tell the police what had happened to Mrs Hunt.

Mr Thorpe, who was described as a chronic alcoholic, was found to have a number of external injuries to his body as well as a faint, patterned mark on his forehead which could have been caused by the imprint of a shoe.

Cuts to his upper lip caused by contact with his teeth led a pathologist to conclude he had been smothered.

Miss Lynch told the court that at the time of the murders Lorraine Thorpe had been on the run from social services after absconding from a children's home, although this has since been denied by social services.

Giving evidence during the trial, Paul Clarke admitted kicking Mrs Hunt twice on the day she died but said he did not think his actions contributed to her death. He said he had fallen asleep in Mrs Hunt's lounge and had been woken up by Lorraine Thorpe who told him that Mrs Hunt was dead. He claimed Des Thorpe had been a friend and denied being involved in his death.

Both Lorraine Thorpe and Grimwood chose not to give evidence during the trial.

Dead pair named in murder inquiry

BBC.co.uk

August 11, 2009

Murder detectives have named a woman and a man found dead in their homes in Ipswich.

Rosalyn Hunt, 41, was found in her flat in Victoria Street, Ipswich, on Sunday. A post-mortem examination found the cause of death as trauma to the body.

Desmond Thorpe, 43, was found in Limerick Close, Ipswich, the next day. Post-mortem tests were inconclusive.

On Monday a man, 41, and a girl, 15, were arrested on suspicion of murder. A 27-year-old man has also been arrested.

Investigations are ongoing at the properties in Victoria Street and Limerick Close, Ipswich.

Any witnesses or anyone with any information in relation to these incidents is asked to call Suffolk Police.

Lorraine Thorpe, 15, Britain's youngest female double murderer was ordered
to be detained for a minimum 14 years.

Paul Clarke was sentenced to serve at least 27 years in prison
for the double Suffolk murder.

Victim

Rosalyn Hunt, 41.