A man will spend the rest of his life in prison after killing a pensioner while released on licence – after he was jailed for two previous murders.

Lawrence Bierton has been sentenced to a rare whole-life order at Nottingham Crown Court for murdering 73-year-old Pauline Quinn.

Bierton bludgeoned the 73-year-old to death with her coffee table in a “brutal” attack at her home in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, in November 2021.

He had been wrongly housed next to her while on licence from a life sentence for murdering two sisters in 1995.

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

Sentencing Bierton, Mr Justice Pepperall said: “You have been found guilty of the senseless and brutal murder of three elderly and disabled women in their own homes.”

He said Bierton “showed each of the victims no mercy”.

“[These were] sustained attacks in which you used extraordinary levels of violence,” he said.

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

“The only just sentence in this case is that you should remain in prison for the rest of your life.”

A Probation Service representative told the court the decision to grant Bierton, 63, accommodation in Rayton Spur, Worksop, was “incorrect”.

Mr Justice Pepperall said it had been a “significant mistake”.

In his sentencing remarks, the judge said: “That decision was flawed and you should not have been housed among elderly and vulnerable residents,” he said.

“Ms Quinn was entitled to expect better, and the system plainly failed her.”

Read more:
The prisoners like Bierton and Letby serving whole-life sentences

The rare whole-life order was the first to be issued at Nottingham Crown Court since 2005.

They are the most severe penalty in the criminal justice system and are reserved for those who commit the most heinous crimes.

Other prisoners to receive whole-life orders include serial killer Lucy Letby and Sarah Everard’s killer Wayne Couzens.

Bierton was jailed for life in 1996 for killing sisters Aileen Dudley, 79, and Elsie Gregory, 73, in Rotherham, South Yorkshire.

They were bludgeoned and suffocated by Bierton and a co-defendant. Their bodies were then set on fire.

Bierton was found guilty of killing Ms Quinn after a two-week trial.

Related posts:

Another 738 COVID deaths and 12,718 cases in UK – as over 15.9m have had first vaccine dose UK’s R number increases slightly to between 0.6 and 0.9 Wales speeds up lifting of COVID lockdown restrictions once again COVID fight forces annual government borrowing to highest level since records began ‘Red Knights’ demand Glazers loosen Manchester United grip after Super League row Man admits to leaving girl, 15, to die so he could catch last train home RSPCA rescues 1p-sized baby mouse after cat captures its mother Man in his 70s dies after hot tub falls from crane, Sky News understands Do not approach: Police warn public to stay away from Katie Piper attacker Details of King’s coronation revealed with three-day spectacle to include balcony appearance and concert Sara Sharif’s relatives ‘want to resolve matters’, lawyer says Suspect arrested by detectives investigating man’s murder