Joanna Dennehy

Case information

Name: Joanna Dennehy

Timeline

• March 2013 — Three murders were carried out in the United Kingdom; the victims were male and died from stab wounds.
• 29 March 2013 — Kevin Lee was killed. His body was found the next day near Newborough.
• 19 March to 29 March 2013 — Lukasz Slaboszewski was killed.
• 29 March 2013 — John Chapman was killed.
• 3 April 2013 — The bodies of Lukasz Slaboszewski and John Chapman were found by a passer-by around 10 miles away in a ditch at Thorney Dyke.
• April 2013 — Following a nationwide appeal, Joanna Dennehy was arrested in April.
• November 18, 2013 — Joanna Dennehy pleaded guilty to all three murders and two further attempted murders.
• November 2013 — Joanna Dennehy pleaded guilty to the murders and two further attempted murders.

Background

Three men were murdered in the Peterborough area; their bodies were discovered dumped in ditches outside Peterborough.

Joanna Dennehy had been involved in an alcohol- and drug-fuelled relationship with John Treanor. Their relationship included allegations of violence and drug and alcohol use, and Treanor described fleeing to start a new life with their daughters after incidents involving Dennehy.

Dennehy was described as having a green star tattoo below her right eye.

Dennehy had been born in a context described as she had earlier wanted to become a lawyer, and her parents had paid for extra lessons.

The offence

Peterborough ditch murders

The Peterborough ditch murders were a series of three murders that took place in the United Kingdom in March 2013. All victims were male and died from stab wounds.

The bodies of all three men were discovered dumped in ditches outside Peterborough.

Victims and injuries

• Kevin Lee (48) — killed on 29 March 2013; his body was found the next day near Newborough. In court it was heard that Lee died of stab wounds to the chest.
• Lukasz Slaboszewski (31) — stabbed in the heart. His body was found by a passer-by around 10 miles away in a ditch at Thorney Dyke on April 3, 2013.
• John Chapman (56) — stabbed in the neck and chest.

Attempted murders and other counts

Dennehy pleaded guilty to attempted murders of Robin Bereza and John Rogers. She also pleaded guilty to three counts of preventing the lawful burial of all three victims.

In addition to the murders, Dennehy pleaded guilty to two further attempted murders.

Investigation

After the killings, police launched a nationwide appeal to find Dennehy, who lived in nearby Peterborough.

Det Chief Insp Martin Brunning, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, described Dennehy as having a “very distinctive” appearance.

At the time police also confirmed that Dennehy had previous convictions but did not disclose what they were for.

Police confirmed that Dennehy lived in nearby Peterborough at the time of the appeal.

Arrest

Dennehy was finally arrested in April.

Dennehy appeared in court alongside her boyfriend Gary Richards, also known as Gary Stretch.

A police ‘Most Wanted’ list included Gary Stretch (47), described as standing 7ft 3in tall.

Trial

Court proceedings and co-defendants

Dennehy had been due to stand trial for the murders in January but admitted the killings and the attempted murders at the Old Bailey.

Dennehy appeared in the dock alongside Gary Richards.

Co-defendants who appeared by videolink included:

• Leslie Layton (36) — pleaded not guilty to perverting the course of justice at an earlier hearing, and faced related counts connected with preventing lawful burial and perverting the course of justice.
• Robert Moore (55) — denied assisting an offender.

Sentencing

Dennehy was due to be sentenced at a later date.

Appeals

No appeal information was included.

Outcome

Guilty plea

On November 18, 2013, Joanna Dennehy pleaded guilty to all three murders and two further attempted murders.

At the Old Bailey, Dennehy’s plea was described as surprising to the court, and she insisted:

“I’ve pleaded guilty and that’s that.”

Dennehy also strongly objected when her lawyers asked for a delay to check that she wanted to plead guilty, and she said:

“I’m not coming back down here again just to say the same stuff. "It’s a long way to come to say the same thing I have just said.”

Judge Mr Justice Sweeney stated:

“She has pleaded guilty to a large number of counts, clearly intentionally. “In the circumstances if there is to be any application for a change then I will consider it – but otherwise she has pleaded guilty.”

The court heard that:

• Mr Lee died of stab wounds to the chest.
• Lee was found in a ditch in Newborough, Cambs, on March 30.
• Mr Slaboszewski was stabbed in the heart.
• Mr Chapman was stabbed in the neck and chest.
• The bodies of Slaboszewski and Chapman were found by a passer-by around 10 miles away in a ditch at Thorney Dyke on April 3.

Dennehy admitted:

• The murders of Kevin Lee (48), Lukasz Slaboszewski (31), and John Chapman (56).
• Three counts of preventing the lawful burial of all three victims.
• The attempted murders of Robin Bereza and John Rogers.

Aftermath

A nationwide manhunt had occurred following the murders, and Dennehy was arrested in April after the nationwide appeal.

Treanor described Dennehy’s conduct and stated he had escaped when she pulled a dagger from her boot and knifed the carpet. Treanor said:

“I knew I had to escape when she pulled a six-inch dagger from her knee-length boot and knifed the carpet, her eyes cold and blank - says former lover John Treanor.”

Treanor said:

“It was the chilling moment John Treanor realised he had to get as far away as possible from dangerwoman Joanna Dennehy. He shuddered as he recalled how she suddenly pulled a six-inch dagger from inside her black knee-length boot. Then, tightly gripping the decorated handle of the blade she thrust it into the carpet, her eyes cold and blank.”

Treanor also said Dennehy’s youngest daughter was terrified about becoming a murderer and quoted the daughter asking:

“Dad, is that how I’ll turn out? Will I be a killer like my mum?”

Treanor said he had to explain to his daughter:

“I had to explain to her that it’s not something you inherit. ”

Treanor said:

“She’s truly terrified of turning into her mother. She went through a lot while living with Joanna. Now she’s facing an even greater challenge.”

Treanor stated he split from Dennehy early in 2009 after her alcohol and drug-fuelled violence became too much to bear, and said:

“I really believe Jo is evil, pure and simple, that is why I took the girls as far away from her as possible,”

Treanor also said:

“Now I’m going to have to sit her down and try to explain the whole thing to her. I’m dreading it. How do you tell a seven-year-old that their mother is an evil serial killer?”

Treanor stated:

“The youngest has no idea about her mother or that she’s a killer. She hasn’t been anywhere near her since she was very little.”

Treanor said he had been living with his daughters and new wife Vicky in a three-bedroom maisonette in Glossop, Derbyshire.

Treanor met Dennehy in 1997 when she was 15 and living in her £315,000 family home in St Albans, Hertfordshire; the couple moved to Luton, Bedfordshire, and then to nearby Milton Keynes in 2001. They stayed for about four years before relocating to Wisbech.

Treanor stated neither worked, and Dennehy used benefits cash to buy drugs and alcohol.

A neighbour described seeing arguments in the back garden and that Dennehy picked up a cricket bat and started battering Treanor as he tried to shield himself, and said:

“She went berserk, she was shouting and swearing and kept on hitting him with the bat,”

The neighbour said:

“I liked John, he was nice and polite, but Jo was a nightmare, she was trouble from the start. She hit him all the time, he would have black eyes and marks on his face.”

The neighbour said:

“Jo was forever drunk and on drugs, even when she was out walking with her oldest daughter.”

The neighbour said Dennehy shaved the little girl’s head until she was completely bald and said Dennehy told them it was because she had nits, and the neighbour said:

“She told us it was because she had nits but nobody was convinced.”

Another neighbour said Dennehy would disappear for weeks on end on drug and alcohol binges and said:

“I’m sure they used to deal drugs in that bungalow because people would call at all hours,”

The neighbour said:

“Cars would pull up and people would come and go all the time.”

The neighbour said:

“Jo had a reputation for being a drunk and a fighter and would cause trouble in the town centre.”

The neighbour described an incident in St Peter’s churchyard and said:

“One night she collapsed in St Peter’s churchyard and slept there overnight.”

The neighbour said:

“She would disappear for days, sometimes weeks, never telling John where she had been, but when she did come back she was always in a state.”

The neighbour said they never saw Dennehy pay attention to her daughters:

“I never saw her pay any real attention to her daughters.”

The neighbour said:

“One of them was about six years old and the other was just a baby when they lived here. It was John who took the older daughter to school in the morning and picked her up later.”

The neighbour said:

“When Jo was with her daughter, she was usually stumbling around either drunk or on drugs.”

The neighbour said that the neighbour would pass Dennehy in a wooded area with another man and said:

“It was obvious what she was doing, apparently she was doing it to get money to buy drugs.”

The neighbour said Dennehy’s partner finally had enough and said:

“I think John finally had enough of her and chucked her out. He took the children up north with him about a year later and that’s the last time I saw him.”

Another neighbour said Jo and John were constantly rowing and said:

“Jo and John were constantly rowing. You could hear the shouting and swearing all the way up the street.”

The neighbour said:

“They always had a lot of visitors. We all knew what was going on, people were doing drugs in there, hard drugs at that.”

The neighbour said a woman collapsed and had a fit by the gate after taking an overdose, probably heroin, and said:

“The police were always being called for one reason or another, mainly to do with the noise.”

Treanor said Dennehy moved about 15 miles west to Peterborough and her last address was the house she rented from Kevin Lee (48), whom she stabbed to death. The neighbour detail included Lee’s body being found dumped in a ditch last Easter.

A description of Dennehy’s appearance at court said she wore a white shirt.

Other details

Tattoos and physical description

Dennehy had a tattoo of a green star below her right eye.

Gary Stretch was described as standing 7ft 3in tall.

Relationship and family details included

Treanor said Dennehy had two daughters with him. Their youngest was described as only seven years old at the time of the account and just a baby when Treanor left.

Treanor said he had an eldest daughter who had started asking questions about her mother and wanted to visit Dennehy in jail; he also stated she was now 14.

Character descriptions and quotations included in the narrative

Treanor said Dennehy had dreamed of becoming a lawyer and said:

“She approached me. She had a thing for dogs – it just went from there. She’d fallen out with her parents and she was a bit of a free spirit but I liked her – in fact I loved her.”

Treanor said Dennehy was in trouble at school for drinking and stealing and said:

“She had been in trouble at school for drinking, she was also stealing.”

Treanor said at 15 her mother kicked her out and told her not to come back, and he said:

“At 15 her mum kicked her out and told her not to come back.”

Treanor described himself as not an angel and said:

“I was a bit of an a******e when I was younger. I got into trouble a lot. It was just stealing from shops, that sort of thing.”

Treanor said he insisted he never slept with Dennehy until she was 16 and said:

“I was out working 17 hours as a security guard she was drinking at friends’ houses till god knows what time.”

Treanor described that Dennehy was being paid in bottles of whisky and vodka, and said:

“She was coming home ­paralytic, smashing the place up.”

Treanor said Dennehy was almost pushing her three-year-old daughter down the stairs and said:

“On one occasion, she almost pushed her three-year-old daughter down the stairs, barging past her in a drunken rage.”

Treanor said:

“She was absolutely wasted. I got a couple of punches. That day I left with my daughter and went back to my mum’s.”

Treanor stated that for 18 months he had no contact with Dennehy and heard she had spent time in a psychiatric unit and prison, and heard rumours of prostitution.

Treanor described Dennehy’s slicing herself with razor blades and said:

“She was slicing herself with razor blades, all up her arms and around her neck. She was cutting everywhere.”

Treanor said the dagger incident happened in early 2009 and said:

“Dennehy was drinking up to two litres of vodka when the incident with the dagger happened in early 2009. John said: ‘It scared the life out me.’ ”

Treanor said he had no sympathy and said:

“It was inevitable this was going to happen. She was either going to do something to herself or to someone else.”

Treanor also said:

“She deserves what is coming to her and if the death penalty was still here she would deserve that.”