Sally Hodkin murder: Killer could have conviction downgraded

In 2006, Nicola Edgington was ordered to be detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act for killing her mother

The son of a woman who was murdered with a butcher's knife says he believed her killer will "do it again" if her latest appeal attempt succeeds.

Nicola Edgington received a life sentence in 2013 for the murder of Sally Hodkin and the attempted murder of Kerry Clark, who were both attacked in the street in south-east London.

The case has been sent to the Court of Appeal due to concerns about the trial.

Len Hodkin said he believed the killer would be freed if she won her appeal.

If that happened, the murder conviction could be downgraded to manslaughter.

Edgington, now known as Nicola Thomas, attacked 22-year-old Ms Clark and later Mrs Hodkin, 58, who was almost decapitated, in Bexleyheath on 10 October 2011.

She had previously been detained under the Mental Health Act for killing her mother in 2005 but was released into the community in 2009.

In 2013, Thomas tried to have her conviction quashed but the case was thrown out by the Court of Appeal. In 2016, she made an application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), an independent body that investigates potential miscarriages of justice.

The CCRC confirmed it had referred the case to the Court of Appeal.

Sally Hodkin, pictured with her son Len, was stabbed in Albion Road

Mr Hodkin told the BBC he did not believe Thomas's mental illness was to blame for her crimes and insisted she was a "dangerous criminal".

"She's evil, evil, 100% evil," he said.

"She's chancing her arm and playing the system. There is a long history throughout her lifetime of deceit, hoodwinking professionals, doctors, psychiatrists, people who have her under their care," he said.

He added that he believed Thomas killed his mother "because she didn't get her own way" and because mental health professionals "didn't see her quick enough".

On the day of the murder, Thomas had made a 999 call to beg for help, Mrs Hodkin's inquest heard. She was taken to a mental health unit in Greenwich but walked off.

Thomas then took a bus to Bexleyheath, where she attacked Ms Clark and and later Mrs Hodkin.

The CCRC said it said it had conducted a "series of complex and lengthy investigations" that call into question "key aspects" of the medical and psychiatric evidence presented by the prosecution.

It said there was a "real possibility" the Court of Appeal could quash Thomas's murder conviction and replace it with one of manslaughter by way of diminished responsibility.

Mr Hodkin said he believed if the appeal succeeded, Thomas could be released within months and was likely commit further crimes if she found life difficult to cope with.

"If those circumstances were to arise again, why wouldn't she go and kill someone else?" he said.

"She could be walking among you, your family, anywhere in the country; she would probably change her name again - you wouldn't have a clue she was standing next to you at the Tube station.

"That's not protecting the public."

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