Pearl Simone Hancock murder: Kerry Taylor given life sentence

Simone Hancock managed to identify her attacker before she died

A woman who stabbed her neighbour to death at a block of flats has been jailed for at least 18 years.

Kerry Taylor, 41, attacked Pearl Simone Hancock, 55, in a communal hallway at Ravenscroft Place, Sheffield, on 4 July 2020.

Police said Ms Hancock, known to family as Pearl, had identified her attacker before she died of her injuries.

Taylor, who was found guilty of murder by a Sheffield Crown Court jury, was given a life sentence on Friday.

South Yorkshire Police said she was identified as a suspect early in the investigation by a neighbour who found Ms Hancock bleeding heavily after hearing a disturbance.

Kerry Taylor was arrested shortly after she was spotted walking the streets "covered in blood"

Ms Hancock managed to tell the neighbour that she had been stabbed by Taylor, and other witnesses reported her shouting that she had been attacked.

Taylor was seen shortly after the attack bleeding from her hand, and ran away after telling a member of the public she had stabbed someone, police said.

She was spotted again 30 minutes later, covered in blood, and arrested a short time later.

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A post-mortem examination found that Ms Hancock had multiple, significant stab injuries to her upper back and shoulders, a wound to her head and defensive wounds on her hands.

Ms Hancock's family said it was a "tragic and senseless murder".

"No parent should have to plan their child's funeral," they said in a statement.