Man found guilty for murder of Betty Yates
A 48-year-old man has been found guilty for the murders of retired teacher Betty Yates from Worcestershire and Reverend John Suddards.
A 48-year-old man has been found guilty for the murders of retired teacher Betty Yates from Worcestershire and Reverend John Suddards.
Jurors in the trial of Stephen Farrow, accused of the murders of a vicar and retired teacher, have been sent out to begin deliberations.
The man on trial for the murders of retired teacher Betty Yates in Worcestershire refused to move from his cell to go to court today.
David Yates, the son of murdered retired teacher Betty Yates spoke outside of court after Stephen Farrow received two life sentences for murder.
He said "we should all be relieved and thankful Farrow is off the streets of Britain today. As in his words that had he not been caught he would have continued to kill others and leave more misery in his wake."
Karen Flellow runs a Victorian tea room, Betty was a customer she knew well. She was a member of walking groups and used to visit her shop and sit beside the window with friends.
Mrs Flellow has suffered nightmares since the loss of her friend.
The families of the retired teacher and vicar murdered by Stephen Farrow have said in a statement they "take some comfort from today's conviction but "nothing will compensate the families...for their losses."
"The sentence today reflectsd the brutal nature of these crimes and the devastating effect they had on the families of these victims".
Betty Yates the retired teacher was found two days after her murder lying in her hallway with her head resting on a cushion.
The court heard she was found with a knife still embedded in her head after being stabbed four times and beaten with a walking stick.
A swab taken from the scene represented a "one-in-a-billion match" as a mixture of DNA belonging to the Yates and Farrow, the court heard
The judge at Bristol Crown Court told Farrow he took pleasure in stabbing his victims adding "you've been found guilty if two horrific murders"
"The sentence for murder is a mandatory life sentence. I pass a life sentence [for each murder]."
Stephen Farrow, 48, was today told he would spend the rest of his life in prison by a judge at Bristol Crown Court.
Stephen Farrow was obsessed with religion and claimed he was once sexually abused by a priest at boarding school and wanted to murder the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Farrow denied the murders of Betty Yates and Rev Suddards but admitted to the manslaughter charge of Rev John Suddards on the grounds of diminished responsibility.