Lorraine Thorpe

{{Infobox serial killer

| name = Lorraine Thorpe

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| birth_name =

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| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1994}}

| birth_place = Ipswich, Suffolk, England

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| spouse =

| sentence = Life imprisonment with a minimum tariff of 14 years imprisonment

| victims = 2

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| country = United Kingdom

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| imprisoned = HM Prison Foston Hall

}}

Lorraine Thorpe (born 1994) is a British woman who is Britain's youngest female double murderer. Over the space of nine days in August 2009, Thorpe tortured and murdered two people in Ipswich, one of which was her own father. She came to national attention upon her conviction in 2010, when it was noted that she had only been 15 years old at the time of the killings. She was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum tariff of 14 years' imprisonment, while her accomplice in the murders was issued with a 27-year minimum tariff. She remains imprisoned at HM Prison Foston Hall, having been refused parole in October 2023.{{Cite news |date=2024-02-04 |title=Ipswich double murderer Lorraine Thorpe refused parole - BBC News |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-67126693 |access-date=2024-03-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204205418/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-67126693 |archive-date=4 February 2024 }}

Background

Thorpe was raised in Ipswich, Suffolk.{{cite news |title='Youngest' female double murderer jailed |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-11218238 |access-date=23 May 2022 |work=BBC News |date=7 September 2010}}{{cite news |title='Youngest' double murderer Lorraine Thorpe loses appeal |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-13087695 |access-date=23 May 2022 |work=BBC News |date=14 April 2011}} She grew up in poverty, living with her father in a number of "squalid" flats and sometimes in tents. She became associated with a group of middle-aged alcoholics who often engaged in violence and regularly fought with each other. The group were also thieves and repeatedly stole in order to be able to pay for alcohol. Thorpe came to the attention of social services, but they could not keep track of her, and every time she was placed in a specially-assigned school, she went back to her father. Her frail father was likewise an alcoholic, and Thorpe had the responsibility of caring for him from a very young age. Her upbringing was said to have left her as a violent young woman who was also highly manipulative.

Murders

=Rosalyn Hunt=

Thorpe and 41-year-old Paul Clarke, whom she had met through drinking, murdered a member of their social circle of drinkers in August 2009.{{cite web |title=BRITAIN'S YOUNGEST FEMALE KILLERS |url=https://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/article/britain%25E2%2580%2599s-youngest-female-killers |website=Crime+ Investigation |access-date=23 May 2022}} After a falling out over a dog, the pair lured 41-year-old Rosalyn Hunt to their flat in Ipswich and tortured her. The woman was kicked, punched and stamped on by Thorpe, and the pair also used cheese graters, dog lead chains and salt to torture her.{{cite web |title=Criminal sentence - Lorraine Thorpe - Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey) - Mr Justice Saunders |url=https://www.thelawpages.com/court-cases/Lorraine-Thorpe-5555-1.law |website=TheLawPages.com |access-date=23 May 2022 |format=Mr Justice Saunders sentencing remarks}} After days of torture, the woman was still alive, and was eventually beaten to death.

On 9 August 2009, a member of the public rang police to raise concerns about the safety of Hunt, and officers found her dead when they entered her property in Victoria Street.{{cite news |title=Police probe 'unexplained death' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/suffolk/8192395.stm |access-date=23 May 2022 |work=BBC News |date=9 August 2009}}

=Her father=

Days after the murder of Hunt, the pair decided to murder Lorraine's own 43-year-old father Desmond Thorpe in order to silence him from implicating them in the first murder to police.{{cite news |title=Man gets life for Ipswich double murder |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-10870428 |access-date=23 May 2022 |work=BBC News |date=4 August 2010}} Lorraine smothered her disabled father with a cushion before kicking him as he lay prone on the floor. She later admitted to police that they would find 'her trainer prints on his head'.

Desmond's body was found by police on the morning of 10 August after they were told a man had died in Limerick Close.{{cite news |title=Girl and man arrested over deaths |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/suffolk/8192888.stm |access-date=23 May 2022 |work=BBC News |date=10 August 2009}} His body was found only hours after the discovery of Hunt's. Police immediately announced that they suspected the murders were linked and arrested both Clarke and Lorraine. On 25 August, they appeared in court charged with the murders.{{cite news |title=Man and girl face murder charge |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/suffolk/8219923.stm |access-date=23 May 2022 |work=BBC News |date=25 August 2009}}

Trial

Clarke and Thorpe were convicted of the murders at Ipswich Crown Court on 3 August 2010. Both had denied the charges but gave no evidence during their trial. Prosecution barrister Ros Jones said: "Rosalyn Hunt became a prisoner in her own home and died from multiple injuries due to the continuous attacks she suffered at their hands. Desmond Thorpe, who was killed days later, had been smothered for reasons known only to Clarke and Thorpe." As part of the evidence against them, jurors heard evidence from a young friend of Thorpe's who said that she had confessed to her to being a murderer. A fellow inmate also testified that Thorpe had spoken about her father's murder to them on the anniversary of his killing. Clarke was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 27 years while Thorpe's sentencing was delayed until September at the Old Bailey, where she was duly sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 14 years. Mr Justice Sweeney said that Thorpe had in part carried out the attacks as she had been keen to "impress" Clarke.{{cite news |title=Ipswich murderer Paul Clarke found dead in HMP Whitemoor |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-29021305 |access-date=23 May 2022 |work=BBC News |date=1 September 2014}} In his sentencing remarks, Sweeney said:

{{quote|She was responsible for protracted kicking, punching and stamping on Rosalyn, who was not fit to defend herself effectively from the outset. By the end of those attacks she was completely helpless. Far from being sorry, Lorraine appears to have gloried in it, describing to her friends at one stage how she stamped on Rosalyn's head{{nbs}}[...] The only possible explanation for [Desmond Thorpe's] death can be the fear that he would go and tell the police what happened to Rosalyn Hunt{{nbs}}[...] I don't accept that she was entirely under the control of Mr Clark. She is someone who can be quite stubborn and wilful and is capable of being highly manipulative herself{{nbs}}[...] Her story is an appalling one."}}

=Reaction=

Upon being convicted, Thorpe officially became Britain's youngest female double murderer, being only 15 at the time of the attacks, a fact that was widely reported in the media both in Britain{{cite news |title=Youngest female double murderer jailed |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/youngest-female-double-murderer-jailed-2072727.html |access-date=23 May 2022 |work=The Independent |date=7 September 2010}}{{cite news |title=Double murderer aged 15: Girl given life sentence |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/hp/front/double-murderer-aged-15-girl-given-life-sentence-6511078.html |access-date=22 May 2022 |work=Evening Standard |date=7 September 2010}}{{cite news |title=Britain's youngest female double murderer jailed |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/7986804/Britains-youngest-female-double-murderer-jailed.html |access-date=22 May 2022 |work=The Telegraph |date=7 September 2010}}{{cite news |title=Britain's youngest female double murderer jailed |url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-30472592.html |access-date=22 May 2022 |work=Irish Examiner |date=7 September 2010}} and abroad.{{cite news |title=16-year-old double murderer jailed for life |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/16-yr-old-double-murderer-jailed-for-life/articleshow/6520528.cms |access-date=23 May 2022 |work=Times of India |date=8 September 2010}}{{cite news |title=Girl, 15, double killer |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/girl-15-double-killer/3TYQOGUYDXN4UXUJ6GYY5S46MA/ |access-date=23 May 2022 |work=The New Zealand Herald |date=8 September 2010}} Her case was compared to those of Sharon Carr, Britain's youngest female murderer who killed aged only 12 in 1992, and Mary Bell, who was 11 when she killed two young boys in Newcastle in 1968 (although younger than Thorpe, Bell was convicted of manslaughter not murder, meaning Thorpe is Britain's youngest female double murderer). The Evening Standard reported that Thorpe had joined "a small group of Britain's most evil women killers", including Myra Hindley and Rose West.

Subsequent events

Thorpe and Clarke had appeals against their convictions for the murder of Desmond Thorpe turned down in April 2011, with judges at the Court of Appeal saying that they had no doubt the convictions were safe. The pair did not challenge their convictions for the murder of Rosalyn Hunt.

In September 2014, Paul Clarke was found dead in prison at HM Prison Whitemoor. It is believed that his death was a suicide.{{cite web |title=MURDERTOWN S2: EPISODES |url=https://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/shows/murdertown/articles/murdertown-s2-episodes |website=Crime+ Investigation |access-date=23 May 2022}}

As of September 2019, Thorpe was imprisoned in HM Prison Foston Hall.{{cite news |title=Inside Knowledge |url=https://insidetime.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Inside-Time-September-2019-FINAL-LOW-RES.pdf |access-date=26 November 2021 |work=Insidetime |issue=243 |date=September 2019 |page=54 |archive-date=26 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126224218/https://insidetime.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Inside-Time-September-2019-FINAL-LOW-RES.pdf |url-status=dead }} In March 2023, it was reported that Thorpe would have her first parole hearing.{{cite news |date=9 March 2023 |title=Ipswich: Double murderer Lorraine Thorpe faces Parole Board |url=https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/23370753.ipswich-double-murderer-lorraine-thorpe-faces-parole-board/ |access-date=23 June 2023 |work=East Anglian Daily Times}}{{cite news |date=9 March 2023 |title=Ipswich: Double murderer Lorraine Thorpe faces Parole Board |url=https://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/23370753.ipswich-double-murderer-lorraine-thorpe-faces-parole-board/ |access-date=23 June 2023 |work=Ipswich Star}} Thorpe, who declined to take an active role in the parole board's case review process, was denied release in October 2023, but remains eligible for parole review in the future.

Thorpe's case continues to be referenced in relation to discussions on Britain's youngest female murderers.

In popular culture

A number of documentaries have been published which have covered Thorpe's case:

On 16 December 2011, a season 5 episode of Deadly Women was broadcast which covered Thorpe's case, titled "Baby-Faced Killers".{{cite AV media| people = Deadly Women| date = 16 December 2011| title = Baby-Faced Killers | type = Television documentary|series=Season 5, episode 15}}
On 8 September 2014, Channel 5 aired a documentary on Thorpe as part of its Countdown to Murder series. The series 2 episode was titled "Killer Schoolgirl" and featured interviews with Rosalyn Hunt's brother as well as officers of the investigative team.{{cite web |title=Countdown to Murder: Season 2 |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/programme/b-gfgnnq/countdown-to-murder-season-2/ |website=Radio Times |access-date=23 May 2022}}
On 26 March 2017, an episode of the CBS Reality series Teens Who Kill documented Thorpe's crimes.{{cite news |title=Ipswich teenage double murderer Lorraine Thorpe's case to feature on CBS Reality series Teens Who Kill |url=https://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/ipswich-teenage-double-murderer-lorraine-thorpe-s-case-to-feature-2779832 |access-date=23 May 2022 |work=Ipswich Star |date=22 March 2017}}
On 24 May 2019, an episode of Britain's Deadliest Kids aired that focused on Thorpe.{{cite web |title=Britain's Deadliest Kids |url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/Britains-Deadliest-Kids-Season-1/dp/B07RX7WKHT |website=Prime Video |publisher=Amazon |access-date=23 May 2022}}
On 7 October 2019, a series 2 episode of the Crime+ Investigation programme Murdertown documented Thorpe's crimes. It was the fourth episode of series 2.{{cite news |title=True crime television series set to focus on Ipswich murders |url=https://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/lorraine-thorpe-paul-clarke-john-grimwood-murdertown-ipswich-2859216 |access-date=23 May 2022 |work=Ipswich Star |date=24 September 2019}}

References

External links

[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3lgd5a 2014 Channel 5 Countdown to Murder documentary on Thorpe]
[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Britains-Deadliest-Kids-Season-1/dp/B07RX7WKHT Prime Video link to 2019 Britain's Deadliest Kids documentary on Thorpe]
[https://www.discoveryplus.com/gb/show/britains-deadliest-kids Discovery+ link to 2019 Britain's Deadliest Kids documentary on Thorpe]
[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7mjiit 2019 Murdertown documentary on Thorpe]
[https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/video/detail/amzn1.dv.gti.db094865-35ca-4dbe-a026-3c3f4e85fd44?autoplay=1&ref_=atv_cf_strg_wb Prime Video link to 2019 Murdertown documentary on Thorpe]