Women whose lies helped murderer flee jailed

Lisa Lithgo and Janette Dowson admitted perverting the course of justice

Two women whose lies prevented police from catching a murderer have been jailed.

Janette Dowson, 57, and Lisa Lithgo, 38, claimed they did not know who had killed 24-year-old Kieran Wood in Hartlepool in May 2023, Teesside Crown Court heard.

However, the pair actually knew it was recently-released prisoner Paul Foster, who "escaped justice" by killing himself hours later before police could get to him.

Both women, who were recorded concocting their story, admitted perverting the course of justice with Lithgo jailed for two years and Dowson for 18 months.

The court previously heard Foster had been released from prison on 19 May 2023 and went to the Spurn Walk home shared by Dowson, her partner Kenneth Dowson and Lithgo.

Three days later, Mr Wood, a drug mule from Horden in County Durham, was lured to the house and stabbed multiple times by Foster, the court heard.

When police arrived, Dowson, of Grange Road, and Lithgo, of Wilson Street, said they did not know either the victim or the killer, causing several hours of delays to the investigation during which time Foster killed himself, the court heard.

Mr Wood's family previously said the women's lies allowed Foster to "escape justice".