Homeless Woman Jailed For Killing Paignton Pensioner

23 May 2018, 14:53 | Updated: 23 May 2018, 14:57

A 29-year-old woman's been jailed for life after stabbing a Paignton pensioner to death in a frenzied attack at his home.

Stacey Stripp, who's homeless, denied killing 71-year-old Peter Mason but was found guilty of murder by Exeter Crown Court.

She will serve a minimum of 16 years.

The court was told that Stripp stabbed Mr Mason 13 times with two knives at his sheltered living accommodation in Hayes Road on the night of 13 November last year.

Senior investigating officer Detective Inspector Steve Davies, of the Major Crime Investigation Team, welcomed the sentence and added: 

“We are content with the verdict and sentence in this case. Throughout the investigation and the trial Stripp maintained that she had acted in self-defence but the evidence simply did not support that theory.

“She is a volatile individual and what set her off that night is not clear.”

“My team carried out an extensive investigation gaining evidence from witnesses, CCTV, phone data and forensic specialists. The evidence was overwhelming and possibly why the jury took less than an hour to make their decision”

“Mr Mason picked the wrong person to befriend and for reasons we still do not know, Stripp decided to act with complete aggression and violence against a pensioner. This has been a sad case and our thoughts are with his family at this time.”