Bexleyheath knife murderer Nicola Edgington jailed for life

10:26am Monday 4th March 2013 in News By Tim MacFarlan, Bexley and north Kent reporter

Bexleyheath knife killer Nicola Edgington Bexleyheath knife killer Nicola Edgington

BEXLEYHEATH knife murderer Nicola Edgington was branded "manipulative and exceptionally dangerous" by a judge sentencing her to life in prison.

The mental health patient, 32, will serve a minimum of 37 years after being found guilty of murdering grandmother Sally Hodkin in the street in Bexleyheath on the morning of October 10, 2011.

The 58-year-old was stabbed with a stolen meat cleaver having never before met her assailant just minutes after Edgington attacked Kerry Clark, then 22, outside Asda with a kitchen knife bought from the supermarket.

Edgington will serve a concurrent sentence of life with a minimum term of 20 years for the attempted murder of Miss Clark, who was listening to music waiting for the bus to work in Dartford when Edgington tried to kill her.

The Recorder of London Judge Brian Barker QC said the attacks were all part of a "consistent and calculated course of criminal conduct" followed by Edgington after she absconded from Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich before she was due to be voluntarily admitted to the Oxleas mental health unit.

He said he did not accept the defence case, that much of the responsibility for the defendant's crimes lay with police and mental health workers who failed to deal with a relapse of her severe personality disorder.

Judge Barker said: " You are manipulative and exceptionally dangerous. What you did could not have been more selfish.

“I disagree that the responsibilities for these attacks can be laid at the doors of others.

"These were terrible acts and you must take responsibility for what you did."

In sentencing, Judge Barker took into account the fact Edgington had stabbed her mother to death in 2005.

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The 2006 conviction for manslaughter was secured on the basis of diminished responsibility owing to Edgington at the time being diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic.

He added: "I cannot ignore the fact that you have killed before and are as near as can be to having three deaths at your door."

Edgington was given a hospital order and released from the semi-secure Bracton Centre in Dartford in September 2009 to live supported in the community in Greenwich.

A statement from the Hodkin family delivered after the verdict by solicitor Daniel Rubinstein attacked the decision to release her.

Mr Rubinstein said: "Whilst the family are relieved that a dangerous woman has been taken off the streets, they remain concerned at the very many questions over the actions of the authorities over an alleged failure to clearly dangerous people in a secure environment.

"They will be considering further action to get answers in the hope that other families do not have to go through their appalling experience."

Mr Rubinstein added the family were keen to be represented at any upcoming inquest into Sally Hodkin's death.

Multiple homicides by Oxleas mental health patients besides Nicola Edgington

Oxleas patient Lee James murdered a teenager in Erith in 2009.

5:11pm Tuesday 12th March 2013

BEXLEYHEATH knife murderer Nicola Edgington is far from the only patient cared for by Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust to have killed in the past decade.

Met Police defends officers who failed to check Nicola Edgington's past convictions

Nicola Edgington.

2:40pm Tuesday 5th March 2013

THE Met police have said running Nicola Edgington’s name through the Police National Computer (PNC) would not have stopped her murderous rampage.

Bexleyheath knife murderer Nicola Edgington jailed for life

Nicola Edgington.

10:26am Monday 4th March 2013

BEXLEYHEATH knife murderer Nicola Edgington has today been jailed for life.

Police missed chance to detain murderer Nicola Edgington on day she killed, report reveals

Nicola Edgington.

12:25pm Monday 4th March 2013

POLICE officers missed the chance to detain Nicola Edgington on the morning she stabbed Sally Hodkin to death in Bexleyheath Broadway, the police watchdog has revealed.

Bexleyheath knife murder: Nicola Edgington to be sentenced next week

Nicola Edgington.

2:16pm Thursday 28th February 2013

BEXLEYHEATH knife murderer Nicola Edgington will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on Monday.

Nicola Edgington guilty of Bexleyheath knife murder

Nicola Edgington.

3:51pm Thursday 7th February 2013

A MENTAL health patient has been found guilty of a horrific Bexleyheath knife murder.

Video: Bexleyheath knife murderer Nicola Edgington fleeing scene and being arrested

Bexleyheath knife killer Nicola Edgington fleeing the scene

5:44pm Thursday 7th February 2013

POLICE have released dramatic CCTV footage showing Bexleyheath knife killer Nicola Edgington fleeing the murder scene and being arrested.

Bexleyheath knife murder: Nurses fired for lying how they chased killer Nicola Edgington

Queen Elizabeth Hospital

5:21pm Thursday 7th February 2013

TWO nurses were sacked for lying about their conduct on the morning of Nicola Edgington’s murderous Bexleyheath rampage.

Bexleyheath murderer Nicola Edgington's religious delusions

Nicola Edgington.

5:14pm Thursday 7th February 2013

MURDERER Nicola Edgington – who knifed two people in Bexleyheath - had a history of mental illness dating back to the killing of her mother in 2005.

Bexleyheath knife murder: Family of Sally Hodkin pay tribute to 'loving, caring, fantastic' woman

Sally Hodkin.

4:46pm Thursday 7th February 2013

A statement issued by the family of Sally Hodkin this afternoon reads:

Jury out in Nicola Edgington Bexleyheath knife murder trial

4:05pm Wednesday 6th February 2013

THE jury is out in the trial of a mental patient accused of murdering a grandmother in the street in Bexleyheath.

Nicola Edgington had 'delusions of 100-eyed monster' before Bexleyheath stabbings

The scene in Albion Road where Sally Hodkin was stabbed.

2:15pm Monday 28th January 2013

MENTAL health patient Nicola Edgington had delusions of a 100-eyed monster in the days before she knifed two people in Bexleyheath, a jury heard.

Comments(10)

concerned.erith says...
1:59pm Mon 4 Mar 13

I really hope that in this case life means life.

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AGL 1965 says...
2:28pm Mon 4 Mar 13

justice of a sort but this person does not even deserve to live, bring back corporal punishment why should we keep this person alive with a clean bed, 3 square meals a day, protection and probably a TV in her room. she doesn't deserve anything but the worrying thing is how many more like her are wandering our streets

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simonwebb70 says...
3:10pm Mon 4 Mar 13

I really hope that the people who let her out after only a few years for killing her Mum are dealt with harshly and that she is taken out in prison to save us the taxpayer a few quid. Bring back the death penalty.

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simonwebb70 says...
3:12pm Mon 4 Mar 13

More reasons to vote UKIP and get our Laws changed so they are fit for purpose.

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Gypo.Joe says...
9:56pm Mon 4 Mar 13

The liberal hand wringers who let this POS out need to take some responsibility, they too have blood on their hands.

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lollie,erith says...
10:37pm Mon 4 Mar 13

when she murdered her mother they diagnosed her with schizophrenia. when they let her out after 3 years saying she was no longer a danger and she killed poor sally hodkin, they have done a u-turn and said she was misdiagnosed. a complete mess again by the authorities and so called 'Trusts'. The only people who lost their jobs were the nurses. what about the police and hospital consultant involved in all of this.

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Virtual-Monster says...
11:35pm Mon 4 Mar 13

What an awful case!

Heartbreaking for the victims and their families, an embarrassment for the Police who were clearly negligent when they had an opportunity to stop this tragedy from happening and a catalogue of failures by an uncaring, overstretched, underfunded, disorganised mental health service which is still ridden roughshod over by people wearing white coats who think they know enough about mental illness to release a dangerous person back into the community to commit murder.

The catalogue of errors in this case are detailed thoroughly in various reports but the crux of the matter is that this could have been avoided if the mental health system in this country was fit for purpose.

If Nicola Edgington had not been released into the community after her mother’s murder this tragedy would have been avoided. The mental health ‘professionals’ who released Nicola Edgington from the Bracton have blood on their hands and should be held to public account.

It’s time that mental health services in the UK were held to the highest standard and not treated like a bolt on to an already imploding NHS. Once again, the decisions of a few mental health ‘professionals’ have ruined the lives of innocent people and changes must be made or this will continue to happen.

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AGL 1965 says...
2:09pm Tue 5 Mar 13

police and others in high authority should lose their jobs over this it simply isn't good enough another mistake and apparently another "lesson to be learnt" like everytime a child is abused or killed by its parents its always "this can't happen again". someone needs to take responsibility of this, its all a big cover up with everyone keeping quiet or passing the buck

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ballbag65 says...
12:12am Wed 6 Mar 13

She clearly has borderline and antisocial personality disorder and is an attention seeking psychopath. In otherwords she does not have a mental illness but rather a vile personality. If she was a dog she would have been destroyed a long time ago.... and that is exactly what should be done with people like this - destroy them ( two bullets to the head - it would save our country billions on otherwise wasted NHS money on these untreatable attention seeking low-lifes.

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lollie,erith says...
12:23am Wed 6 Mar 13

these people are treatable. but releasing them into the community with a packet of pills isnt the answer. they shouldve kept her in a secure unit which is what she wanted and begged for. this will happen time and time again as this country will always let people like her out just to save money, no other reason. poor mrs hodkin lost her life and there will be many more unfortunately. lets hope her family is successful if their prosecution because until then, nothing will change.

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