Convicted double killer found guilty of third murder
Lawrence Bierton killed 73-year-old Pauline Quinn at her home in Worksop
Last updated 14th Dec 2023
A convicted double killer has been found guilty of murdering his elderly neighbour while he was out on licence in Nottinghamshire.
Jurors took less than an hour to unanimously convict the 63-year-old of murder this afternoon after a two-week trial at Nottingham Crown Court.
Bierton bludgeoned 73-year-old Pauline Quinn, to death with a coffee table at her home in Rayton Spur, Worksop, on November 9 2021 after she refused to give him money for alcohol.
Bierton admitted killing Ms Quinn but denied murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility due to alcohol dependency syndrome, which his barristers claimed formed a "mental abnormality".
Warning Bierton that a whole-life order was an option, Mr Justice Pepperall said: "Whether that is the sentence passed in this case, I can only decide after proper mitigation on your behalf, but be under no illusion that that sentence is very much a possibility in your case."
The judge excused the jury from future service for five years.
Bierton looked forward silently as the verdict was returned, while members of Ms Quinn's family wept in the public gallery.
John Cammegh KC, for the Crown, said Bierton showed a "callous and chilling desire" to murder his neighbour as he was "hell-bent" on avoiding a recall to prison over his drug and alcohol misuse.
His defence barrister, Mark McKone KC, told jurors that Bierton's alcohol addiction was a recognised "mental abnormality" which would have caused withdrawal symptoms which would have caused him to lose self-control.
Bierton will be sentenced at the same court on Wednesday.