Great Waldingfield: Peter Nash jailed for murdering wife and daughter

Louise (left) and Jillu Nash were found dead at their home in Great Waldingfield

A man has been jailed for a minimum of 40 years for murdering his wife and daughter, after finding out his wife planned to leave him.

Peter Nash, 47, asphyxiated Jillu Nash, 43, and stabbed his daughter Louise, 12, at their home in Great Waldingfield, Suffolk, in September.

Nash denied murder but was found guilty by a jury at Ipswich Crown Court.

Mrs Nash's mother described him as a "living human monster" in a statement at sentencing.

The judge said Nash seemed to "feel no remorse" and he had a "distorted view on the law"

His trial heard that Mark Leamey, whom Mrs Nash was having a relationship with, became worried when he could not contact her late on 7 September and on the morning of 8 September.

Emergency services found the two bodies when they were called to the family home and discovered that Nash had stabbed himself in the chest multiple times.

Louise had autism and was non-verbal.

The court heard Nash tried to take his own life following the killings

Prosecutor David Josse KC said Nash "calmly and chillingly" admitted the killings and tried to justify it as punishment for his wife's infidelity, and that his daughter was his "property".

Representing himself, Nash claimed the legal system did not apply to him and he compared courts to casinos where "the house always wins".

Mr Josse said there was no evidence the defendant was suffering from a psychiatric illness.

The jury gave unanimous guilty verdicts following the trial.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 40 years on both counts, to be served concurrently.

At sentencing on Wednesday, Mr Justice Edward Murray said the defendant seemed to "feel no remorse" and "attempted to justify these murders with relation to a deeply flawed set of beliefs about the law that you've got from internet searches".

Mrs Nash's family members wept in the court's public gallery, while Nash used his walking frame to head down to the cells.

Mark Leamey, who was in a relationship with Mrs Nash, said all his "dreams are gone"

In victim impact statements, Mr Leamey said he "thought I would spend the rest of my life with her" and that "all my dreams are gone".

Mrs Nash's mother, Dhruti Shah, said in her statement that Nash was a "living human monster".

"She always did the best by her beautiful daughter Lou," she added.

Nicola Rice, a specialist prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Everyone who met Jillu described her as kind, caring and full of life. "She had plans for herself and her daughter which were cruelly cut short by an act of horrific violence by her husband."