Michelle Hanson murder: Alexander Carr jailed for 19 years

Michelle Hanson was found dead at her home on 3 December

A student who went on the run after brutally murdering a grandmother has been jailed for more than 19 years.

Alexander Carr, 33, stabbed Michelle Hanson 29 times in Sunderland and was arrested while living in a tent in London following an 18-day manhunt.

Mother-of-five Ms Hanson, 47, was found dead at her home in Brady Street by a family member on 3 December.

Carr was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 19 years and three months at Newcastle Crown Court.

A nationwide search was launched for the University of Sunderland student after Ms Hanson's body was found.

Police discovered him living in a tent on a railway embankment near Upper Holloway railway station in north London.

Prosecutor Dafydd Enoch KC told the court Ms Hanson was last seen alive on the night of 1 December.

A family relative went to her flat and saw her with a man, later identified as Carr.

Mr Enoch said the man was "acting nuts" and talking in accents while Ms Hanson, who had been drinking, was in "very good humour".

She was "laughing and cuddling" up to the man, who she appeared to be attracted to, he said.

Alexander Carr admitted murdering Michelle Hanson

At about 01:20 on 2 December, Carr was seen on CCTV leaving Brady Street. Ms Hanson's body was found in her blood-spattered living room the following day.

Mr Enoch said it was clear she had been subjected to a "vicious, violent attack" after which her killer fled through a bathroom window.

A large knife was found under Ms Hanson's body and a broken plate beside her head, with porcelain fragments in her hair.

She had been stabbed 29 times in the scalp, face and neck, suffered multiple blunt force injuries and had "no opportunity to defend herself", the court heard.

When police went to Carr's home on Wilfred Street he was not there but they found a jacket heavily stained with Ms Hanson's blood.

Michelle Hanson's family said she was kind and would help anyone

Two psychiatrists agreed he was "not suffering from any form of underlying psychotic illness" and though he had a "borderline emotional unstable personality disorder", that would not have diminished his responsibility for the killing, the court heard.

Mr Enoch said the killer "knew perfectly well what he had done", despite being heavily under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

Carr had 29 previous convictions including multiple violent offences, such as attacking a man with a hammer in London for which he was jailed for three and a half years.

'Evil monster'

He kept his head bowed as Ms Hanson's daughter Shannon Brown and sister Angela Kelly read out emotional statements.

Ms Brown said Carr was "evil" and a "monster" who had been welcomed into the home of her "defenceless" mother.

She said her mother was a "kind and caring woman with a huge heart, infectious smile and brilliant sense of humour".

Ms Brown said: "She was always vulnerable to people taking advantage of her.

"She would never hurt anyone, even if someone did something to her she would forgive them, because she always saw the good in people."

Michelle Hanson (right), pictured with her daughter Shannon Brown, was "kind and caring", the court heard

Nicholas Lumley KC, representing Carr, said the killer had had a history of mental health problems and was "not functioning as a normal person" at the time of the attack.

He said his client's family was "at a loss" to explain why he had killed and Carr was "shocked and devastated" by his own actions.

Mr Lumley said Carr took "full responsibility for bad lifestyle choices" which led to him "being so out of control that night".

He said his client wished he had "tried harder to seek help rather than self-medicating" with drugs and alcohol.

Michelle Hanson always saw the good in people, her family said

Carr's actions had been "devastating" for the victim's family who had been left "utterly heartbroken", Judge Paul Sloan KC said.

"All the more so knowing as they do the nature of the attack and the utter terror Ms Hanson must have suffered in the last moments of her life."

He said Carr had been smoking skunk cannabis and drinking when he visited Ms Hanson, who he knew.

The judge said the killer became "increasingly anxious and paranoid" which culminated with the "brutal attack".

He said Carr had a "disturbed" childhood and had personality disorders but was "well aware of the risk" he posed to himself and others when intoxicated.

"That night you made a choice, you voluntarily consumed drink and drugs knowing the risks," the judge said, adding that Ms Hanson "should have been safe" in her own home.

Det Ch Insp Graeme Barr of Northumbria Police said Carr had never explained why he caused such "horrific injuries" to Ms Hanson, adding: "[Carr's] an extremely dangerous individual, he really does pose a significant threat."