By Amy Elizabeth Lunde
“I killed to see how I would feel, to see if I was as cold as I thought I was, then it got more-ish.”
Myra Hindley. Rose West. Joanna Dennehy. The only three women in the United Kingdom who recieved 'whole life orders' for their crimes; meaning they will die in prison. Myra Hindley is perhaps one of the most notable killers who recieved a whole life order. She was dubbed 'the most hated woman in Britain' after her part in the 'Moors Murders', a string of murders perpetrated by her and her partner Ian Brady. The murders of five children and teenagers between July 1963 and October 1965. Hindley appealed for release but died in November 2002- 36 years after she was jailed. Rose West remains in prison with a whole life order after her conviction for her part in the torture and murder of 9 young women between 1973 and 1987. She has declined to appeal since 2001, although maintains her innocence.
"I said: 'What are you doing?' She said: 'I'm hurting you. I'm going to fucking kill you.'
Joanne Christine Dennehy was born in 1982 in Hertfordshire, England. She lived with her mother, father and younger sister, Maria. By all accounts she had a stable upbringing, she did well in school, participating in netball and hockey. Her sister described her as 'very academic', a girl who loved reading and learning. At this time, there was no evidence of violence from the young Joanne, who had ambitions of becoming a lawyer.However, this started to change as she reached her teen years. She started to run away from home aged 13 and drink alcohol. She ran away with a boy who was 18 years old. They were found hiding out in a hostel and Joanne was taken home swiftly by her parents. Maria says:
'Our parents were very protective of us, perhaps they were a little too strict, but we were not beaten or abused in any way. They treated us the same, but it was Joanna who rebelled. No one can understand what went wrong.'
When Dennehy was just 15 years old, she met 20 year old John Treanor and they began a relationship. Although her parents tried hard to get her to come home, she eventually left home for good at the age of 16, setting up home with John Treanor. By the time Dennehy was 17, she'd given birth to her first child, a girl. She would go on to have another daughter, having two children by the age of 21. Marie had visited her sister during this time, finding her to be in a bad way, unkempt and asking for money. In contrast, Marie had just returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan. This would be the last time she saw her sister, after refusing to give her money. The next she would hear of her was when she was wanted by the police after the murders were discovered.
According to Treanor, and neighbours livng near the couple Dennehy showed little feeling or love towards her children. Criminologist and author Christopher Berry Dee stated that Dennehy most likely would have had children to keep Treanor around, and to recieve benefit money she could then spend on alcohol. According to Treanor, Dennehy would regularly attack him and abuse drugs and alcohol, often disappearing for weeks at a time. He claimed she would come back for some 'normality' and attempt family life with cooking and cleaning and looking after the girls, but soon enough would disappear again. Treanor claims that Dennehy was also sleeping with other people, both men and women, and self-harming. The last straw is explained by Treanor himself:
'She come to my house one night and she had pins dug in her arms ... blood was pouring, she had blood coming from there, short miniskirt, she had cut her legs and she sat down with her high-heel boots on ... She pulled a knife out of her boot ... [and said] 'I wish I could kill someone!'
After this incident, Treanor moved away with their two daughters. Aside from a few letters, Dennehy never saw him or their children again.
Dennehy then drifted around several towns in the Cambridgeshire area, before her arrest in 2013. In 2012 she was convicted for theft, and whilst in prison, recieved psychological testing. The findings resulting in a diagnosis of anti social personality disorder.
'Antisocial personality disorder is defined by a pervasive and persistent disregard for morals, social norms, and the rights and feelings of others.Individuals with this personality disorder will typically have no compunction in exploiting others in harmful ways for their own gain or pleasure and frequently manipulate and deceive other people, achieving this through wit and a facade of superficial charm or through intimidation and violence.'
Psychopathic traits were also noted, namely rage, impulsivity, violence and anger. Dennehy was prescribed medication designed to stablise her mood. By this time, recently released from prison, Dennehy had no family around, and no home. She ended up in Peterborough, in Cambridgeshire. Here she approached 'Quicklet' a small lettings firm. The co-owner of this firm was Kevin Lee, 48. Although a colleague was sceptical of Dennehy, Lee wanted to give her a chance. Dennehy quickly began working for Lee as well as living in one of his bedsit properties. He used her as an 'enforcer' for troublesome tenants, a role which suited Dennehy perfectly. She loved the power and control. She was known for her fierce temper. Dennehy and Lee also began an affair. Feeling more stable now she had a job of sorts, and somewhere to stay, Dennehy stopped taking her medication.
31 year old Lukasz Slaboszewski moved to the United Kingdom from Poland the in 2012. He was described by family back in a Poland as being 'the joker in the family.' He met Dennehy around Peterborough town centre on March 18th 2013. He told friends he may have found an 'English girlfriend.' Dennehy had turned on the charm, and he was pleased when she sent a text to invite him to her home. He went willingly, hoping to take things further with her, the messages are alleged to have been sexually explicit. However Denney had other plans. Slaboszewski was stabbed through the heart. Blood splatter was later found near the kitchen and throughout the house, attempts had been made to clean it up, but traces remained.
Dennehy, realising she couldn't dispose of the body by herself, called upon Gary 'Stretch' Richards for help. Nicknamed Stretch(as he will now be refered to) was a 7ft 3inches tall, career criminal who was smitten by Dennehy. He was described as following her round 'like a puppy.' Eager to impress Dennehy, Richards helped her to dispose of the body first in a wheelie bin outside. At this point, a teenage girl in the neighbourhood says that Dennehy showed her the body of Slaboszewski still in the bin:
'Jo was just standing by the bin. She kept smiling.'
The body was dumped in a ditch at Thorney Dyke in the Peterborough countryside.
Leslie Layton had been living at the same property as Dennehy and John Chapman and was a friend of Stretch. Although also a career criminal, he had never been involved in anything as nefarious as murder. Yet.
After a very short cooling off period of 10 days, Dennehy was ready for more 'fun' as she called it. John Chapman, 56 was a housemate of Dennehy. He previously served in the Navy in the Falklands war. By this time Chapman had fallen on hard times and was an alcoholic living in a cheap bedsit. Despite his problems, he was known to be a 'friendly drunk.' However Dennehy claimed she had caught him 'spying on her in the bath' in their shared house. Whether this is just a flimsy attempt at a motive is unknown, Dennehy turned up at Chapmans bedsit with alcohol. Chapman had previously expressed to friends that he was scared of Dennehy, calling her the 'man woman' on account of her aggression. After drinking together, Chapman passed out and was then stabbed in the chest and neck 5 times. Two of these stab wounds penetrated the heart, one was inflicted with such force that it passed through the breastbone. Finally the carotid artery was severed. There are clear signs of escalation from Dennehy here as Slaboszewski was stabbed only once through the heart as opposed to multiple stab wounds. Chapman died with no struggle. His blood alcohol level was four times the drink driving limit. He may have even been asleep at the time with no idea of his fate.
After this murder, Dennehy called Stretch and sang the Britney Spears song 'Ooops I did it again.' Once again, Stretch was Dennehy's willing accomplice. The bodies of Slaboszewski and Chapman were dumped in a ditch with the help of Leslie Layton who had found Dennehy washing blood off of herself in the bathroom in the shared bathroom at the property. Dennehy then showed him the dead body of Chapman. Instead of being shocked or showing sympathy or indeed calling the police at the gruesome discovery of his previous housemate and drinking buddy, Layton took a picture of the lifeless Chapman on his mobile phone. After this Layton went shopping with a friend and still did not raise the alarm. Later he helped to dispose of the body in the same ditch as Lukasz Slaboszewski who still lay there undiscovered.
Dennehy's final murder victim was just a day later. Kevin Lee, her landlord, employer and lover. Lee was a 48 year old Peterborough native and by all accounts was a loving family man with a wife and two children. He had been having an affair with Dennehy, and confessed to his wife on the 20th March 2013. However, he too had expressed fears about Dennehy saying she told him she wanted to 'rape him in a dress.' On the 29th of March, Lee gave Dennehy an Easter card, and she called him that day. Lee arrived at the same house that Slaboszewski was killed at and was stabbed 5 times in the manner of John Chapman, however this time there were defensive wounds. For this murder, Dennehy also added a different touch, she dressed Lee in a black sequined dress and arranged the body with the buttocks exposed. Dennehy herself admitted she did this with the purpose of humilation in death, stating
“It is hearsay that I was going to rape him in a dress,” she said. “I did put him in a dress, it was humiliation, pure and simple. There was nothing sexual about it.”
She claimed that Lee had owed her money. Stretch had told a friend 'She'll fucking kill him (Lee)' Lee's body was dumped in a ditch in Newborough, also in the Peterborough area. As usual, Dennehy was assisted by Stretch and Leslie Layton. Unlike Slaboszewski and Chapman, Kevin Lee was reported missing. His body was found by a dog walker, in the dress with the buttocks exposed. The bodies of the other two victims had yet to be found. Lee's car was found burnt out then his body discovered by a dog walker. After the disposal of the bodies and burning of the car, Layton stayed with Gary Stretch that night, whilst Dennehy sought out another man who was besotted with her, Robert Moore. Tarpaulin was borrowed from Moore to help with disposal of the body of Kevin Lee. Despite having no criminal convictions and a 14 year old daughter living with him-It was her who had been shown the body of Lukasz Slaboszewski in the wheelie bin days before- Moore gave refuge to Dennehy and Stretch for two nights despite knowing what they had done. Moore had been sending text messages of a sexual nature to Dennehy, another man apparently smitten with her.
As the news broke that the body had been found, Dennehy and Stretch went on the run, first to Kings Lynn,Norfolk where an old cellmate of Dennehy, Georgina Page was living. Page hadn't seen Dennehy since prison, until the two turned up on her doorstep. Page claimed that she didn't believe Dennehy had killed anyone, until she saw her face on the news- she was a wanted woman. Dennehy was said to be delighted by this and 'jumped up and down.' Page claimed:
'I was very shocked. I was scared, I didn’t know what to do.'
Dennehy then went on to describe her and Stretch as 'Bonnie and Clyde.' Page says she asked Dennehy why she had killed and Dennehy responded:
'They shouldn’t have pissed me off, they shouldn’t have flirted with me.'
Dennehy also confided to Page that Kevin Lee had seen one of the bodies so she had to kill him as well. However, in sentencing, the judge, Mr Justice Spencer remarked:
'That may be part of the reason, but it was only part. I am quite sure that the reason you murdered Kevin Leein the way that you did and dumped his body in the way that you did was to gratify your own sadistic lust for blood.'
After staying with Page, Dennehy and Stretch travelled across the UK to Hereford. Stretch being originally from Kington in Herefordshire. They were spotted on CCTV entering a service station in Market Harborough. The plan was to break into a house and steal electric goods to sell on. Stretch had a criminal record for 'routine offending' in Hereford under his previous name, Gary Richards. Richards had moved away from the area to Peterborough and had then assumed his long-held nickname as his surname. After stealing some electrical goods from a holiday home, Stretch and Dennehy travelled to an old criminal associate of Stretch in Kington., Andrew Wilmott aka 'Moby' here they also met Mark Lloyd. Lloyd also claimed to have been enamoured by Dennehy right from the start. He later stated:
'She ran her hand down the back of my neck. It was like being touched by a rattlesnake. If she had told me to put my head through the car windscreen, I would have done it.'
Mr Justice Spencer commented at the trial that he was of the opinion that Mark Lloyd was not a willing passenger in the car that day, and that Gary Stretch had showed him a gun in the waistband of his trousers earlier that day, although not in view of Dennehy. That afternoon, Dennehy, Stretch and Lloyd started to drive to the Oval area of Hereford. The Vauxhall Astra that Stretch had purchased and nicknamed 'The Hearse' was on the police radar with the model and registration now known to them. After 48 hours on the run, Dennehy must be caught before killing again. In the late afternoon of Tuesday 2nd of April 2013, Dennehy, Stretch and Mark Lloyd were driving in the 'Oval' area of Hereford. Dennehy was caught on CCTV buying cigarettes and whiskey from a local shop. Just moments later, she would stike again.
Robin Bereza, aged 64 was walking his labrador at around 03:30pm. Hearing a car pull up behind him, Bereza suddenly felt a blow to his shoulder. He stated at the trial that he turned around and saw Dennehy there but she just stared right through him, he managed to kick out at her twice, with little effect.
Dennehy then pursued Bereza down the road, only retreating when another car drove along, waiting to turn into a side road. Dennehy then strolled casually back to the car where Stretch was waiting then drove on. During this attack, Robert Bereza had sustained two stab wounds. A deep wound in his back penetrated the chest wall, bruised a lung and broke a rib. The second stab wound shattered his shoulder blade and fractured a bone in the upper arm. Bereza managed to stagger home to call for an ambulance. Despite his injuries, Bereza was able to tell police that his attacker was a woman with a star tattoo on her cheek.
'You've had your fun, now I want mine. I don't want to kill a woman, especially one with a child. Find me another man with a dog.'
Just 9 minutes later, Dennehy struck for a second time.This time 56 year old John Rogers was walking his lurcher dog in a small cul-de-sac. Stretch knew this area was popular with dog walkers as his grandmother used to live nearby. Dennehy saw Rogers from the car, and launched a frenzied attack on him. In comparison to Robin Bereza, Rogers recieved 30 stab wounds, 9 ribs were fractured, he then spent 6 hours in surgery, and 5 days in intensive care. Rogers dog was also taken into the car by Dennehy. As expected, both men have also suffered mental trauma from the attacks, and how close they were to losing their lives that day. John Rogers details the attack:
'She didn't seem to be showing any emtions, she didn't seem to be enjoying herself, she just seemed to be going about business. I fell to the ground but the attack continued, I was just waiting for it to stop. There was loads and loads of blood. As I lay there I thought, 'This is where I am going to die.'
Dennehy made no excuses for the attempted murders, stating:
'It was kind of a fetish, I am ashamed at the brutality and the fear that I heaped upon these two victims. It was drunken cruelty, plain and simple, compelled by my lack of respect for human life. I tried to kill more times than Bonnie and Clyde. My only regret is that those two guys lived, this is no fault of mine.'
After the final attack, Stretch and Dennehy travelled to South Hereford where they met up again with Andrew Wilmott (aka Moby). They were to meet a buyer who was interested in the stolen property. After the deal., Stretch and Dennehy were hoping to go on the run again. However, police were now gathering information on the suspects and the green Vauxhall Astra nicknamed 'The Hearse' by Stretch, was now known by all police in the area as 'used in crime' A police car pulled into the road where the car was parked up and spotted it almost immediately. Dennehy was drunk in the front passenger seat, whilst John Rogers' dog Archie was on the backseat. Dennehy was arrested right away and offered no resistance. Stretch however, saw a chance for escape and jumped into Andrew Wilmott's car. They sped off towards Kington, but were spotted by other officers, also on the lookout for the green Vauxhall. After a chase, Stretch's associates were immediatley arrested. However, Stretch made one last bid for freedom, and took off running into a nearby field. However, he didn't get far and after being surrounded, he walked up to the officers and said: 'I suppose I am Britain's most wanted man?'
All of the suspects were then taken to Hereford police station where the usual processing took place, fingerprints, DNA swabs, itemization of personal property and photgraphs taken. Dennehy acted like the whole thing was hilarious and told officers:
'It could be worse, I could be fat and ugly!'
Dennehy is co operative and fliratious with the officers, flicking her hair and smiling broadly. She then complains about the 'suicide suit' she is told to wear (this is prison issued clothing designed so prisoners cannot self harm. She claims the clothing is ugly and too big for her, when an officer jokes it suits her, she flashes a dazzling smile and continues to act flirtatiously to both male and female staff. Never in this time does she ask about the victims, however she does express concern for the dog that she took from John Rogers. She then claims to have drunk half a bottle of whiskey that morning. Dennehy is then led to the cells, dancing and skipping.
'I've pleaded guilty and that's that, you bastard!'
The trial was a relative open and shut affair, although Dennehy did plead not guilty then changed her plea at the last minute. Her sister Marie put this down to Dennehys usual need to control the situation. Gary Stretch however did not go down without a fight, his defence claimed that he had been terrified of Dennehy and went along with her plans fearing for his life, and the safety of his ex wife and children if he had not obeyed Dennehy. On the 10th of Febuary 2014, Stretch was found guily of one count of conspiracy to attempted murder and three counts of preventing the lawful and decent burial of three human bodies.
Leslie Layton was found guilty of two counts of preventing the lawfil and decent burial of three human bodies. Sentencing was due to take place on the 28th of April 2014.
Gary Stretch was sentenced to 19 years minium in prison, and if released would be on license for the rest of his life. Leslie Layton was sentenced to 14 years in prison. For his smaller part in the crimes, Robert Moore who sheltered Dennehy and Stretch after the first three murders was sentenced to 6 years in prison. Moore had no previous convictions and the judge was prepared to accept he was somewhat under the spell of Dennehy. However, hjad Moore done his duty as a citizen and reported what he knew before the pair set off for Herefordshire, the later two attempted murders might never have happened. The judge also accepted that Moore was genuienly remorseful for his actions.
In sentencing, Mr Justice Spencer said of Dennehy:
'Joanne Dennehy, within the space of 10 days at the end of March last year you murdered three men in cold blood. Although you pleaded guilty you have made it quite clear that you have no remorse for those murders. With the help of one or more of your co‐defendants you dumped the bodies of your three victims in remote rural areas around Peterborough hoping they would not be found. Only a matter of days later you attempted to murder two more men, this time openly on the streets of Hereford, victims chosen entirely at random. Miraculously they survived. You claim to feel remorse for stabbing those two men nearly to death. I have no hesitation in rejecting that suggestion. You are a cruel, calculating, selfish, and manipulative serial killer.'
Dennehy was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a 'whole life order' meaning she will die in prison, one of approximately 100 people given a whole life order since 1983, and only the third woman.
Despite many violent and unstable periods in her life, Dennehy was not sectioned under the mental health act until 2004. This happened after she was accused of violentely assualting a man. She was diagnosed as having a psychotic disorder as well as being emotionally unstable and prone to unpredictable explosions in her behaviour and temper. The next time Dennehy would be evaluated was after the murders and attempted murders, at a pre sentencing session with consultant forensic psychiatrist, Dr Frank Farnham. She was once again diagnosed with an emtionally unstable personality disorder, anti social personality disorder and paraphilia sadomasochism, described as a preference for sexual activity involving the infliction of pain and humiliation and/or bondage. Psychopathic disorder was also added to the list, characterised by superficial charm, callous disregard for others, pathological lying, and a diminished capacity for remorse. Dennehy told Dr Farnham that she was sadistic and saw the murders as 'some sort of a fetish.'
Dennehy chose not to use these disorders as mitigating circumstances, instead changing her plea to guilty at the last minute. Dr Elizabeth Yardley, a senior lecturer in criminology at Birmingham City University says that Dennehy probably did this to regain a sense of control of the situation again, leaving even her defense team clueless of her plea change.
'This is a woman who clearly likes messing with people so to throw her own legal team into chaos would have given her a sense of satisfaction,'Dr Yardley said.
'But if it had gone to trial and she had given evidence, we wouldn't necessarily be any closer to knowing the truth of why she did what she did.'
'Serial killers do not give the truth away very easily - it gives them power that they can continue to use long after they are convicted.'
Female serial killers are rarer than male serial killers and it can be difficult to catogorise them. They generally fall into several groups, one of the most common being the 'Black Widow' this is when a victim, usually a family member is killed for finacial gain. A common method is poison, usually over extended periods. Mary Ann Cotton is a strong example of the Black Widow killer, in the 1800's in the north of England Cotton would murder four husbands, two lovers and eleven of her own 13 children. Her weapon of choice was arsenic. Her crimes were eventually uncovered and she was hanged in 1873. The Black Widow will kill for insurance money or legacy/property before moving on to another victim. In some cases they can move to a different part of the country and if concealing their identity, remain free for years before she is caught or suspected.
'The Angel of Death' is also a classification for a female serial killer. They will often work in an outwardly caring capacity such as a nurse or carer for the elderly, giving them acess to the more vulnerable members of society. The Angel of Death will enjoy the drama of life and death situations and the control they get from deciding who lives, and who dies. They will often feel little remorse, convincing themselves that the victim would have died anyway. Beverly Allitt is an example of an Angel of Death killer. Allitt was a nurse in Lincolnshire, also in the United Kingdom who killed four of her young patients and injured nine. The children were all admitted with seemingly non life threatening conditions such as a chest infection or asthma. Allitt seemed to always be there in time to try and 'save' the child. It was later discovered she has injected them with either insulin, or an air bubble. Allitt was given 13 life sentences for murder and attempted murder, one of the harshet sentences ever given to a British female. She like Joanna Dennehy, will never be considered for parole. She remains in Rampton Secure Unit.
The 'revenge' killer will kill a lover or a love rivial, they are often deeply neurotic and will see treacheryt\ or rivalry when there is nothing there. Jane Andrews is an example of this type of killer. Andrews worked as a dresser for Sarah Fergerson, the Duchess of York at Buckingham Palace. Originally from Lincolnshire in the United Kingdom, she cast aside her working class roots and had several rocky relationships with rich and often older men. Her last with Thomas Cressman, a stockbroker. When she found out he had no intention of marrying and starting a family with her, they had a confrontation which led to her waiting until he was asleep before bludgeoning him with a cricket bat and stabbing him in the chest. Andrews had attempted suicide many times in her life and whilst in prison was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. She was released from prison on license in 2015 after serving 15 years.
'Team killers' are often a couple who kill together. There will usually be a dominant individual (typically the male) but there are several examples where women join in at least with procuring victims as a woman is seen as being less threatening. The previously mentioned Rose West and Myra Hindley are both examples of this. With both West and Hindley, the male attempts to take the blame, but there is evidence in both cases that the women were more involved than they claimed. Myra Hindley's voice is heard on a tape depicting the torture of ten year old Lesley Ann Downey and Rose West was heavily involved with the rape and assualt of then sixteen year old Caroline Owens. Owens managed to escape the pair and testified against them many years later when their crimes were finally uncovered. As well as being involved in the rape and murder of their young victims, Rose was also strongly suspected of killing her stepdaughter Charmaine when Fred was serving a short prison sentence, as well as participating in the abuse of her other stepdaughter, Anne Marie West.
'Profit or crime killers' kills alone for money usually, unlike the Black Widow, will often kill strangers. An example of the profit or crime killer is Aileen Wuornos who killed six men as a highway prostitute between November 1989 and November 1990. Wuornos killed to take money and cars from the men, which she then used to keep her girlfriend, Tyria Moore. Wournous changed her story and motives often, from self defence, to cold blooded murder and robbery, and everything in between. She was sentenced to death and was executed by lethal injection in October 2002. Aileen was hailed as 'Americas first female serial killer.' Wournous could also fit into the revenge killer category,i.e she was seeking revenge on men for all the abuse she had suffered from them throughout her life. One thing that can be agreed on, is that Aileen Wournos was a very damaged woman. She was confirmed to have borderline personality disorder, and anti social personality disorder. Wuornos was also a valuable study to find out more about women who kill. She had a psychopathic personality. Using the psychopathy checklist, Wuornos scored 32, the cut off point for the test in the US is 30.
Finally, the 'thrill killer.' The thrill killer is usually part of a team e.g Rose West, Myra Hindley, they will kill for kicks and to bolster flagging relationships with their partners.
Joanna Dennehy is a rare breed of female killer. It's been argued that she is 'spree killer' or 'multiple murderer.' David Wilson, professor of criminology at Birmingham university has studied the case extensively says:
'This case is unique and unprecedented. Serial killers disengage from the process of killing and revert to their normal life. There was never any sense of her disengaging. She seems to have constantly been in the moment of killing.'
Dennehy was also unique in the respect that she was the dominant partner in the killings as opposed to the more common situation where the male is the more dominant partner and the female follows the world view of the partner, in this case, Gary Stretch adopted Dennehy's world view. Dennehy herself attributes her crimes to simply doing it for the thrill, she craved notoriety and refered to herself and Gary Stretch as 'Bonnie and Clyde.' Dennehy claimed she had enjoyed killing Luasz Slaboszewski then it got 'moreish.' She is certainly one of the few, if only female serial killers we know of who has comitted the murders alone and with a knife as opposed to team killers like Myra Hindley and Rose West, and Aileen Wournos who used a firearm as her weapon of choice which is arguably a less 'hands on' weapon. The violence used by Dennehy also escalated after the murder of Slaboszewski, by the time she got to her last attempted murder victim, he was stabbed 30 times in broad daylight on a public road. According to a previous cellmate of Dennehy, she had boasted of wanting to be a serial killer at least two years before the murders. At sentencing, Judge Mr Justice Spencer explained: '
'Joanne Dennehy for these three cruel and brutal murders I sentence you to life imprisonment and the term you will serve is a whole life order. That reflects the seriousness not only of the three murders but also the two attempted murders and the three offences of preventing the lawful burial of the bodies of your three victims. For the two attempted murders, there will be concurrent sentences of life imprisonment. For each of the offences of preventing burial, there will be concurrent sentences of 12 years imprisonment.'
Dennehy currently resides at HMP Bronzefield. Upon entering the prison, Dennehy threatened to kill fellow prisoner, the aforementioned Rosemary West. So serious was the threat, that West was transferred to a different prison the next day. Having met and studied Dennehy extensively, Christopher Berry Dee states:
“Jo Dennehy was, without doubt, the most evil person I have ever met. She was streets ahead of Aileen Wuornos.
Editor's note: this article ran in Serial Killer Magazine and is published as the author wrote it, spelling and strong language included, with the epigraph set as a quotation. The forename appears as both Joanne and Joanna in the original; the courts and this archive use Joanna Dennehy. The record agrees with the article. Dennehy killed Lukasz Slaboszewski, John Chapman and Kevin Lee over eleven days in March 2013, and the bodies were left in ditches in and around Peterborough. She was arrested in Hereford three days after the last killing, having stabbed two more men there, both of whom survived. She pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey in November 2013 to three murders and two attempted murders, and Mr Justice Spencer imposed a whole-life order in February 2014. She is alive. The article's framing point is right and worth stating precisely: she is one of only three women in the United Kingdom serving a whole-life order. The other two are Myra Hindley, whose tariff was raised to whole life by successive Home Secretaries rather than set by a judge, and Rosemary West, who was convicted of ten murders in November 1995 and given a whole-life tariff by the Home Secretary the following year. Dennehy is the only one of the three to have received the order from a judge in open court, and she was the first woman in England and Wales to do so. The closing comparison to Aileen Wuornos is a quotation from someone who met her, not an assessment this archive makes. Wuornos was convicted of one murder and pleaded to five more, and was executed in 2002.