'Exceptionally dangerous' killer may be released early

‘Exceptionally dangerous’ killer who murdered a stranger in the street six years after killing her own mother may be released early

• CCRC says it’s ‘real possibility’ Edgington’s murder conviction will be overturned

The conviction of an ‘exceptionally dangerous’ woman who murdered a stranger in the street six years after killing her own mother could be quashed in a move that could pave the way for her early release.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission confirmed it had referred the case of double killer Nicola Edgington to the Court of Appeal, adding there was a ‘real possibility’ her murder conviction will be overturned and replaced with a manslaughter conviction.

Edgington, 43, killed grandmother Sally Hodkin, 58, with a butcher’s knife and tried to murder then 22-year-old Kerry Clark in a horrific rampage in Bexleyheath, south-east London, in 2011.

Jailing her for a minimum of 37 years, Judge Brian Barker declared: ‘You are manipulative and exceptionally dangerous. What you did could not have been more selfish.’

But in a letter to Ms Hodkin’s horrified family, the CCRC – the miscarriages of justice watchdog – said it was referring her conviction to the Court of Appeal ‘because new evidence about her mental health suggests that her responsibility may have been significantly diminished at the time of the offence’. 

The conviction of an ‘exceptionally dangerous’ Nicola Edgington (pictured) who murdered a stranger in the street six years after killing her own mother could be quashed in a move that could pave the way for her early release

Edgington, 43, killed grandmother Sally Hodkin, 58, with a butcher’s knife and tried to murder then 22-year-old Kerry Clark in a horrific rampage in Bexleyheath, south-east London , in 2011

In a letter to Ms Hodkin’s horrified family, the CCRC – the miscarriages of justice watchdog – said it was referring her conviction to the Court of Appeal ‘because new evidence about her mental health suggests that her responsibility may have been significantly diminished at the time of the offence’. Pictured: Sally Hodkin

Ms Hodkin’s son Len told the Mail: ‘We are devastated that we are having to deal with this again. It brings everything back up again. It’s soul-destroying.’ 

In 2006, Edgington was convicted of manslaughter after stabbing her mother Marion to death the previous year and was ordered to be indefinitely detained under the Mental Health Act. She was released from a psychiatric unit just three years later.

Mr Hodkin, a solicitor, fears that if the Court of Appeal changes her conviction to manslaughter by diminished responsibility, it could also decide to alter her sentence to a hospital order, which could allow doctors to release her early.

‘I appreciate that there is a system in this country that looks at miscarriages of justice but this is not a miscarriage of justice – she accepts she killed my mum,’ he said. ‘How many chances do you give one person to go out and be a danger to the public?

‘She killed her own mum, she killed my mum and she attempted to murder Kerry Clark. Do we want to live in a society where we just keep giving these people chances to go and kill someone else’s mum?’

The CCRC letter, which was hand-delivered to Mr Hodkin last Thursday, reveals that Edgington has changed her name to Nicole Thomas.

It stressed there is ‘no suggestion that Ms Thomas was not criminally responsible’ for Ms Hodkin’s death.

Edgington was convicted of manslaughter in 2006 after stabbing her mother Marion (pictured) to death the previous year and was ordered to be indefinitely detained under the Mental Health Act. She was released from a psychiatric unit just three years later

Steve Keogh, a former detective inspector in the Metropolitan Police, said Edgington was the most chilling murderer he came across during more than a decade of working in London. ‘She frightens me, to be honest,’ he said. ‘I have never felt unsafe arresting anyone or confronting them, but she is frightening.’ 

Julian Hendy, director of the Hundred Families charity, which supports families after mental health-related killings, said: ‘This is an outrageous and deeply concerning decision. She is a highly dangerous and manipulative woman. She has a documented history of lying, deceit and manipulation.’

Edgington called police to beg for help on the day she killed Ms Hodkin and told accident and emergency staff that she needed to be sectioned and felt like killing someone.

The CCRC said it referred Edgington’s conviction after ‘commissioning fresh psychiatric assessments’.

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