Lorraine Thorpe
Lorraine Thorpe | |
---|---|
Born | 1994 (age 29–30) |
Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment with a minimum tariff of 14 years imprisonment |
Details | |
Victims | 2 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Imprisoned at | HM Prison Foston Hall |
Lorraine Thorpe (born 1994) is a British woman who is Britain's youngest female double murderer. Over the space of nine days in August 2009, Thorpe
Background
Thorpe was raised in
Murders
Rosalyn Hunt
Thorpe and 41-year-old Paul Clarke, who she had met through drinking, murdered a member of their social circle of drinkers in August 2009.
On 9 August 2009, a member of the public rang police to raise concerns about the safety of Hunt, and officers found her dead when they entered her property in Victoria Street.[6]
Her father
Days after the murder of Hunt, the pair decided to murder Lorraine's own 43-year-old father Desmond Thorpe in order to silence him from implicating them in the first murder to police.[4][5][3][7] Lorraine smothered her disabled father with a cushion before kicking him as he lay prone on the floor.[4] She later admitted to police that they would find 'her trainer prints on his head'.[4]
Desmond's body was found by police on the morning on 10 August after they were told a man had died in Limerick Close.[8] His body was found only hours after the discovery of Hunt's. Police immediately announced that they suspected the murders were linked and arrested both Clarke and Lorraine.[8] On 25 August, they appeared in court charged with the murders.[9]
Trial
Clarke and Thorpe were convicted of the murders at
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... The only possible explanation for [Desmond Thorpe's] death can be the fear that he would go and tell the police what happened to Rosalyn Hunt... I don't accept that she was entirely under the control of Mr Clark. She is someone who can be quite stubborn and wilful and is capable of being highly manipulative herself... Her story is an appalling one."[5]
Reaction
Upon being convicted, Thorpe officially became Britain's youngest female double murderer, being only 15 at the time of the attacks, a fact that was widely reported in the
Subsequent events
Thorpe and Clarke had appeals against their convictions for the murder of Desmond Thorpe turned down in April 2011, with judges at the Court of Appeal saying that they had no doubt the convictions were safe.[3] The pair did not challenge their convictions for the murder of Rosalyn Hunt.[3]
In September 2014, Paul Clarke was found dead in prison at HM Prison Whitemoor.[10] It is believed that his death was a suicide.[17]
As of September 2019, Thorpe was imprisoned in HM Prison Foston Hall.[18] In March 2023, it was reported that Thorpe would have her first parole hearing.[19][20] Thorpe, who declined to take an active role in the parole board's case review process, was denied release in October 2023, but remains eligible for parole review in the future.[1]
Thorpe's case continues to be referenced in relation to discussions on Britain's youngest female murderers.[4]
In popular culture
A number of documentaries have been published which have covered Thorpe's case:
- On 16 December 2011, a season 5 episode of Deadly Women was broadcast which covered Thorpe's case, titled "Baby-Faced Killers".[21]
- On 8 September 2014, Channel 5 aired a documentary on Thorpe as part of its Countdown to Murder series. The series 2 episode was titled "Killer Schoolgirl" and featured interviews with Rosalyn Hunt's brother as well as officers of the investigative team.[22]
- On 26 March 2017, an episode of the CBS Reality series Teens Who Kill documented Thorpe's crimes.[23]
- On 24 May 2019, an episode of Britain's Deadliest Kids aired that focused on Thorpe.[24]
- On 7 October 2019, a series 2 episode of the Crime+ Investigation programme Murdertown documented Thorpe's crimes. It was the fourth episode of series 2.[25]
See also
- Mary Bell
- Sharon Carr
- Nicola Edgington
- Louise Porton – fellow British female double murderer imprisoned with Thorpe in HM Prison Foston Hall
References
- ^ a b "Ipswich double murderer Lorraine Thorpe refused parole - BBC News". web.archive.org. 4 February 2024. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f "'Youngest' female double murderer jailed". BBC News. 7 September 2010. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f "'Youngest' double murderer Lorraine Thorpe loses appeal". BBC News. 14 April 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "BRITAIN'S YOUNGEST FEMALE KILLERS". Crime+ Investigation. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ a b c "Criminal sentence - Lorraine Thorpe - Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey) - Mr Justice Saunders" (Mr Justice Saunders sentencing remarks). TheLawPages.com. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ "Police probe 'unexplained death'". BBC News. 9 August 2009. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ a b c d e "Man gets life for Ipswich double murder". BBC News. 4 August 2010. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ a b "Girl and man arrested over deaths". BBC News. 10 August 2009. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ "Man and girl face murder charge". BBC News. 25 August 2009. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ a b "Ipswich murderer Paul Clarke found dead in HMP Whitemoor". BBC News. 1 September 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ "Youngest female double murderer jailed". The Independent. 7 September 2010. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ a b c "Double murderer aged 15: Girl given life sentence". Evening Standard. 7 September 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- ^ "Britain's youngest female double murderer jailed". The Telegraph. 7 September 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- ^ a b "Britain's youngest female double murderer jailed". Irish Examiner. 7 September 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- ^ "16-year-old double murderer jailed for life". Times of India. 8 September 2010. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ "Girl, 15, double killer". NZ Herald. 8 September 2010. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ "MURDERTOWN S2: EPISODES". Crime+ Investigation. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ "Inside Knowledge" (PDF). Insidetime. No. 243. September 2019. p. 54. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
- ^ "Ipswich: Double murderer Lorraine Thorpe faces Parole Board". East Anglian Daily Times. 9 March 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
- ^ "Ipswich: Double murderer Lorraine Thorpe faces Parole Board". Ipswich Star. 9 March 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
- ^ Deadly Women (16 December 2011). Baby-Faced Killers (Television documentary). Season 5, episode 15.
- ^ "Countdown to Murder: Season 2". Radio Times. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ "Ipswich teenage double murderer Lorraine Thorpe's case to feature on CBS Reality series Teens Who Kill". Ipswich Star. 22 March 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ "Britain's Deadliest Kids". Prime Video. Amazon. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ "True crime television series set to focus on Ipswich murders". Ipswich Star. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
Further reading
- Gornall, Jonathan (11 April 2014). "New way to call time on high strength, cheap alcohol". BMJ. 348: g2572. S2CID 39661007.