Lawrence Bierton: Killer guilty of third murder will never be released

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

A triple murderer will never be released after killing his neighbour, who he battered to death with a coffee table while out of prison on licence.

Pauline Quinn, 73, was found dead in her home in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, in November 2021 having suffered 29 separate injuries to her head and face.

Lawrence Bierton was sentenced to a whole-life order at Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday.

He was previously jailed in 1996 for killing two elderly sisters.

A jury had heard Bierton murdered Mrs Quinn 18 months after being released for the second time while on licence for killing Elsie Gregory, 73, and Aileen Dudill, 79, at their home in Rotherham.

Bierton was released on licence for the second time in May 2020 and moved to Rayton Spur six months later.

'Serious oversights'

Police raised concerns about his move to the area, due to the risk posed to elderly and vulnerable people, however the court heard the move was approved by the Probation Service.

This decision was described in court by Saika Jabeen, head of the Nottinghamshire probation delivery unit, as "flawed" and labelled a "significant mistake" by the judge, Mr Justice Pepperall.

She added senior managers would apologise to the family on behalf of the Probation Service for the "serious oversights" in the case.

In his sentencing remarks, the judge said: "That decision [to house Bierton at Rayton Spur] was flawed and you should not have been housed among elderly and vulnerable residents."Ms Quinn was entitled to expect better, and the system plainly failed her."

Bierton entered Mrs Quinn's home in Rayton Spur, just after 16:00 GMT on 9 November 2021, after she refused to give him money for alcohol, the court heard.

The 63-year-old - an alcoholic - had drunk vodka and rum, and taken crack cocaine and an opioid on the morning of the murder.

Mrs Quinn, who lived alone and had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulled the emergency cord in her accommodation during the attack, which recorded audio of Bierton repeatedly striking her.

Lawrence Bierton was found guilty of murdering Mrs Quinn after a two-week trial

The judge said there were "extremely worrying parallels" between the two murders, which took place in 1995, and the killing of Mrs Quinn.

Bierton used "extraordinary levels of violence" during all three of the murders, showing each of his victims "no mercy", he added.

Ms Gregory and Ms Dudill were found dead in the front room of their house in South Yorkshire after it was set on fire.

Both were found to have died before the blaze was started. Ms Dudill suffered head injuries and was smothered to death while Ms Gregory died from a traumatic brain injury.

"All three women were elderly and suffered at least some degree of physical disability," the judge said.

"All three were known to you.

"All three women were subjected to extreme and sustained violence and all three women suffered very substantial blunt force trauma to their heads and fractured skulls.

"I am left in no doubt whatsoever that you must never again be given the opportunity to walk the streets."

Bierton was given a whole-life order, meaning he will never be released from prison, except in exceptional compassionate circumstances.

More than 60 criminals are serving a whole-life order, four of whom are being held in secure hospitals, according to the PA news agency.

The whole-life order is thought to be the first to be issued at Nottingham Crown Court since 2005

In a statement released by Mrs Quinn's son, Tom Quinn - and daughters Janice Quinn and Lisa Rummery - she was described as a "beloved mother, sister, and grandmother".

"We, her family, are tortured by the circumstances of her death," they said.

"In what should have been the safety of her own home, our mother suffered a vicious and sustained attack.

"One of the hardest aspects of this case has been the fact that the man who killed our mother was a convicted double murderer who had served a life sentence and was on licence.

"On his release, instead of seeking to make something of his second chance in life, he resorted to killing our mother.

"It was our mother's terrible misfortune that Bierton was rehoused next door to her.

"Like his first two victims, she too was a vulnerable elderly woman. And like them, she too was murdered in the most brutal and pitiless way."