Updates on Friday, 13 May 2016
Former milkman Brett Rogers is sentenced to 32 years in prison for murdering his mother and her friend
Gillian Phillips, 54, and David Oakes, 60, had more than 40 stab wounds each when police found them in Stansted Mountfitchet in 2015
Judge Philippa Whipple QC said the 23-year-old had murdered his mother in a "brutal and sustained attack"
More news, sport, travel and weather updates from 08:00 on Monday
That's it from us at Essex Live today - thanks for stopping by. If you've missed anything during the day, take a scroll back down the page.
We'll be back on Monday morning with the latest news for the county.
Have a great weekend.
Dan Holley
BBC Look East weather
It will be an increasingly cloudy evening, but soon giving way to clearer skies through the night.
It will turn chilly, and should stay dry for most, although a few showers could spread in from the North Sea by dawn. Minimum temperature: 6C (43F).
Tomorrow will be mainly dry, but feeling rather cool with patchy cloud and sunny spells.
Stay up-to-date with the weekend forecast where you live from BBC Weather.
A newly born foal has had something of a sticky beginning to life - after it became stuck in mud at Tilbury Fort this afternoon and had to be rescued by firefighters.
Image source, Essex Fire and RescueEssex Fire and Rescue said the newborn, which got into trouble at about 13:00, was swiftly reunited with its mother after a quick wash.
Both animals are doing fine.
Nick Alliker
BBC Essex
Here are the top stories for Essex this afternoon:
Glenn Speller
BBC Essex sport
In the last hour it has been confirmed the former Braintree Town manager Danny Cowley has joined Lincoln City FC.
Image source, Getty ImagesBBC Essex first broke this story on Wednesday morning and the news has been rubber stamped, external in the last few minutes.
Cowley led Braintree to the National League play-offs this season and a third placed finish. Braintree are advertising for a new boss.
The husband of Khabi Abrey, 30, who died while 32-weeks pregnant following a flat fire in Westcliff-on-Sea on Saturday has described his wife as "amazing, beautiful and gentle".
Image source, Essex PoliceStuart Abrey, 37, said: "I didn’t know a human could be so pure and perfect. She is literally an angel.
"Her full name Bokhabinyana means ‘radiance’ and she literally shone love everywhere she went", he added.
Lillo Troisi, 47, of Balmoral Road, has been charged with her murder.
A 47-year-old man has been remanded in custody after being charged with murdering a pregnant woman in Westcliff-on-Sea.
Lillo Troisi, 47, of Balmoral Road, appeared via video link at Chelmsford Crown Court. He spoke only to confirm his name and that he understood today's proceedings.
Khabi Abbrey, 30, was 32-weeks pregnant when she died following the blaze on the ninth floor of Grampian flats in Balmoral Road on Saturday night.
Chelmsford's derelict Britvic factory has been sold, the city's council has announced.
The site on Westway closed more than two years ago, ending the soft drink company's long association with Chelmsford.
It has been bought up by Aberdeen Asset Management for an undisclosed fee and is likely to be developed into a new retail and business park.
Image source, Google
Jack Warren
BBC Local Live
Sentencing of Brett Rogers at Chelmsford Crown Court has now finished.
To recap, the 23-year-old has been jailed for a minimum of 32 years for murdering his mother and her friend at a home in Stansted Mountfitchet in July 2015.
Coming up.... a look at some other stories happening in the county.
Chris Flynn
BBC Essex
David Oakes, 60, who was murdered by former milkman Brett Rogers, had recently undergone treatment for cancer, the court heard.
Image source, Essex PoliceIn a statement read out at Chelmsford Crown Court Mr Oakes' daughter, Louise Wyllie, said she had "lost the chance to rebuild a relationship with her father".
Mrs Wyllie had recently married and hoped her first year of marriage would be a "happy one - but it was not".
Rogers is now beginning a 32-year prison sentence for the murders of Mr Oakes and Gillian Phillips.
Essex Police said Brett Rogers "failed to admit his responsibility for abruptly ending the lives of his mother and her friend is such a brutal way", following this afternoon's sentencing.
Quote MessageMrs Phillips had welcomed her son back in to her home despite his violent past. She was murdered in her own home; the place where she should have been safest, and by someone who she should have been able to trust."
Det Ch Insp Morgan Cronin, Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate
Chris Flynn
BBC Essex
Continuing after the sentencing of Brett Rogers, Judge Philippa Whipple QC said: "The evidence against you was overwhelming. Your footprint was on your mother's face."
She added that the only surprise in the case, which last just over a week, was that the 23-year-old did not admit to the crimes.
Chris Flynn
BBC Essex
Upon handing the sentencing to Brett Rogers, Judge Philippa Whipple QC said the 23-year-old had murdered his mother in a "brutal and sustained attack".
Gillian Phillips, 54, was found with at least 41 stab wounds, some of which penetrated the bone base of her skull.
"One image that will stay in the mind of anyone involved in this case is that of the reconstruction of your mothers face showing that stamp injury attributed to your shoe on her left check", she said.
Chris Flynn
BBC Essex
Wearing a grey zipped fleece, Brett Rogers looked on the verge of tears as he was sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court.
He will spend at least the next 32 years of his life behind bars for killing his mother and her friend in July 2015.
Chris Flynn
BBC Essex
Former milkman Brett Rogers has been sentenced to a minimum of 32 years behind bars for murdering his mother and her friend in Stansted Mountfitchet.
The 23-year-old was found guilty of the double murders at Chelmsford Crown Court earlier.
We'll hear comments from the judge shortly.
Brett Rogers has been sentenced to 32 years in prison for the murder of his mother and her friend in July last year.
More to follow...
A school in Brentwood is closed today after 120 pupils came down with a vomiting virus.
Image source, GoogleThe Brentwood Preparatory School, which caters for children aged between three and 11, first became aware of the outbreak on Wednesday, when 40 pupils were absent.
In total, 120 children, five teachers and 10 teaching support staff were affected. A thorough deep clean has now taken place and the school will reopen on Monday.
The Senior and Sixth Form remain open.
If you're sat at your desk, perhaps bored on a commute - and in need of a bit of procrastination - why not get into the Eurovision mood early? Well, it is nearly the weekend.
Find out just how 'Eurovision' you are with this BBC probing quiz.
An off-duty Essex Police officer has been stabbed in the hand while challenging a man who was acting suspiciously in Rayleigh.
Image source, GoogleThe officer, who was walking his dog at the time, was treated in hospital after the incident in Bardfield Way on Saturday evening.
Detectives say the suspect, who would have been covered in a lot of blood, is described as white, aged in his early 20s, about 6ft (1.8m) tall, and was wearing a grey hooded jumper and grey jogging bottoms.
Nick Alliker
BBC Essex
If you're just joining us, here are the top stories for Essex this lunchtime: