Lawrence Bierton: Case review after released murderer kills again

Pauline Quinn, 73, was found after paramedics were called to Rayton Spur in Worksop

The case of a double-killer who committed a third murder while out on licence has prompted a review.

Lawrence Bierton was found guilty on Thursday of murdering his 73-year-old neighbour Pauline Quinn at her home in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, in 2021.

At the time of the offence, Bierton was on licence after being released from a life sentence for the murder of two elderly sisters in the 1990s.

A full review of the case has been completed, the Probation Service said.

It added findings would be released after they have been shared with Mrs Quinn's family and Bierton had been sentenced.

A spokesperson said: "This was an awful crime and our thoughts remain with the family of Pauline Quinn.

"We have conducted a review into this case and it would be inappropriate to comment further while proceedings are ongoing."

Prison release

Bierton, 63, battered Mrs Quinn to death with her coffee table at her home in Rayton Spur at about 16:00 GMT on 9 November 2021.

On the morning of the murder, Bierton - an alcoholic - had drunk rum and vodka and taken crack cocaine and Subutex - an opioid - before attacking his victim when she refused to give him money.

He denied murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility, claiming his alcohol dependency constituted a "mental abnormality", but this was rejected by the jury.

The trial heard Bierton had been jailed for life in 1996 for murdering two women the year before, with prosecutors telling them that their killings were "strikingly similar" to Mrs Quinn's murder.

He was released on licence in December 2017 but was recalled to prison in July 2018 after what prosecutor John Cammegh KC described as "repeated failures to address his behaviour".

Bierton was released a second time in May 2020 to approved premises but moved to Rayton Spur six months later "following concerns about his association with certain individuals".

He is due to be sentenced for Mrs Quinn's murder at Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday.