Clacton grandmother killer jailed for 16 years

Kathleen Griffin was described as kind-hearted and generous

A killer who tortured and then stabbed a grandmother to death in her own home has been jailed for 16 years.

Kathleen Griffin, 57, died at her flat in Clacton, Essex, in December after being stabbed 14 times in her neck, chest, abdomen and back.

Scott Hilling, 26, who admitted her manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, was sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court.

Judge Charles Gratwicke described it as a "horrific, savage killing".

He told Hilling: "You tied her up and tortured her. She must have been petrified in those minutes or so before her death."

Scott Hilling stopped to watch TV in between stabbing Kathleen Griffin

"This was a sickening and brutal killing of a defenceless woman, described as being kind-hearted and generous."

The judge made an order under the Mental Health Act which detains Hilling, of no fixed address, in a secure hospital to receive treatment "before or if" he is transferred to a prison to complete the remainder of his sentence.

The Parole Board would then consider whether he is no longer a risk to the public and could be released.

Kathleen Griffin had helped Hilling because he was homeless

Hilling said voices forced him to kill, the court was told.

Hilling, who had been taken in by his kind-hearted victim at her flat in Old Road, Clacton, because he was homeless, said he watched television in between stabbing her.

The court heard that Hilling claimed he was sexually abused as a child by his father.

Senior investigating officer Det Insp Al Pitcher said: "His attack on her was savage. At no point has he ever shown any shred of remorse for his actions."

Kathleen Griffin was fatally stabbed at her home in Old Road, Clacton