Ipswich Teenager Jailed For Double Murders

7 September 2010, 13:59 | Updated: 7 September 2010, 17:21

An Ipswich teenager has become Britain's youngest female double murderer after being given a life sentence 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 42-year-old Paul Clarke of Mountbatten Court in Ipswich, in the murders of Desmond Thorpe and Rosalyn Hunt last August.

Ms Hunt, 41, was beaten to death in Ipswich over several days and Mr Thorpe, 43, a ``vulnerable'' alcoholic, was smothered amid fears that he would tell the police about the first murder.

Lorraine Thorpe, now 16, was told she must serve at least 14 years behind bars as she was sentenced at the Old Bailey.

Mr Justice Saunders said she could be ``manipulative'' and was not acting entirely under Clarke's control, adding: ``She found violence funny and entertaining.''

42-year-old Paul Clarke, of Mountbatten Court, Ipswich, has already been jailed for life with a minimum term of 27 years.

Lorraine Thorpe became Britain's youngest convicted female double murderer after the pair's trial at Ipswich Crown Court, which ended last month.