Triple murderer will never be set free

A DOUBLE killer who murdered a third elderly woman when he was wrongly housed next to her while on licence from jail has been told he will die behind bars.

- Paul Jeeves

Lawrence Bierton was given a whole life sentence yesterday for bludgeoning disabled Pauline Quinn, 73, with a wooden coffee table at her sheltered bungalow.

Bierton, 63, had been housed nearby by probation staff when he was out on licence from a life term he received for murdering two elderly sisters in 1995.

Mr. Justice Pepperall branded that move by officials as a "significant mistake".

The judge told Bierton at Nottingham Crown Court: "You have been found guilty of the senseless and brutal murder of three elderly and disabled women in their own homes...sustained attacks in which you used extraordinary levels of violence. You must never again be given the opportunity to walk the streets.

"The only just sentence in this case is that you should remain in prison for the rest of your life." It is the first whole life tariff imposed since 2005.

Jurors took less than an hour to convict alcoholic Bierton after hearing he inflicted 29 injuries on Ms Quinn. He showed no emotion as he was led out of the court.