Ian Bennett who stabbed partner 54 times before his mother helped him cover it up is jailed for life
Moment killer boyfriend, 38, who stabbed his partner 54 times after accusing her of lesbian affair was caught by his mother’s own dash-cam dumping knives into canal as she helped try to cover up murder
Ian Bennett stabbed partner and mother-of-two Kerry Woolley a total of 54 timesCourt heard he was ‘controlling and obsessive’ and accused her of cheatingHe was caught out by his mum’s own dash-cam throwing knives into a canalHis mother Lynda Bennett, 63, was found guilty of helping him cover up crime Ian was jailed for life with 25 year minimum while Lynda was jailed for three years
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A killer boyfriend who brutally stabbed his girlfriend 54 times has been jailed for life after he was caught by his mother’s own dash-cam throwing knives into a canal.
Ian Bennett, 38, was today jailed for life after he launched a ferocious attack on mother-of-two Kerry Woolley and then roped his mother into a ‘cowardly’ plot to hide his crime.
A court heard was told how Bennett killed the 38-year-old at her flat in Olton, Solihull, West Midlands, after falsely accusing her of sleeping with another woman.
Bennett then roped his mother Lynda Bennett, 63, into a cowardly plot to help him conceal the crime on July 12 last year.
She drove her son to a canal bridge to dispose of the murder weapons and dash-cam footage from her own car helped convict the pair in court.
Other evidence found on Bennett’s phone found he had researched: ‘The best way to get revenge on a woman’.
Killer Ian Bennett, 38, was caught on his own’s mother dash cam recording throwing away murder weapons that he used to knife girlfriend Kerry Woolley to death
The court heard Bennett (pictured) launched the attack at a home in Solihull in July last year
Bennett then roped his mother Lynda Bennett, 63, into a cowardly plot to help him conceal the crime on July 12 last year. She drove her son to a canal bridge to dispose of the murder weapons and dash-cam footage from her own car helped convict the pair in court
Controlling boyfriend Ian Bennett stabbed his girlfriend Kerry Woolley (pictured) 54 times in the neck in a paranoid attack after wrongly accusing her of sleeping with another woman
But his plan was snared by damning footage which captured him throwing the murder weapons from a canal bridge after he knifed Kerry Woolley to death.
Bennett, of Solihull, was found guilty of murder at Birmingham Crown Court. His mother Lynda was convicted of assisting an offender and perverting the course of justice was caged for three years.
The jury took less than an hour to reach their verdicts on the pair.
The court was told how Bennett had called 999 on the afternoon of the murder, telling officers he had found mum-of-two Kerry with catastrophic wounds to her neck.
He claimed he had left the flat in the early hours of July 12 and had then been unable to get back in contact with Kerry.
Police body-cam footage captured Bennett’s crocodile tears as he tells cops: ‘I’ve been trying to call and ring her all day, no answers.
‘So I thought I’d knock on. The door wasn’t open so I had to pull the handle and then I walked into that…found her dead.’
He then points at the door and sobs: ‘It’s horrific.’
Although initially no weapon could be located Bennett was arrested on suspicion of murder.
His mum was also captured on camera calmly arriving at the scene to ask police why her son was being arrested despite knowing full well what had happened.
At one point she even laughs when an officer tells her Bennett is being taken to a station in Coventry and she scoffs: ‘I don’t know how to get to Coventry.’
Both Bennett (left) and his mother Lynda Bennett (right) were sentenced at court this morning
In a tribute shared today, Kerry’s family said: ‘We as a family never gave up hope that Kerry would turn her life around.
‘We continued to support her throughout but Ian Bennett has taken that chance away and we will never forgive him for that.’
Judge Melbourne Inman QC branded Bennett ‘an extremely dangerous man’ and said he attack on Kerry Woolley was ‘extreme’ violence.
He added that an experience pathologist considered it ‘one of the most horrific murders he had seen’.
Judge Inman told Lynda she acted out of ‘misguided but genuine love’ for her son but that she failed to show remorse for her crime.
Ms Woolley, described as a ‘beautiful soul’ and ‘warm personality’ in the wake of the tragedy, was found dead at her home in Olton, Solihull, on July 12, last year.
Caroline Goodwin QC, prosecuting, said the defendant would not let the matter go and they had an argument during which he threw her phone at the TV.
Bennett was captured on CCTV several times looking casual as he went about disposing of evidence after he stabbed girlfriend Kerry to death in her Solihull home
Police body camera footage shows Bennett weeping and describing the crime scene as ‘horrific’
Despite his tearful display at the scene of the crime, Bennett is arrested on suspicion of murder by police officers
She said the attack on the victim was ‘brutal and deliberate’ with the majority of the injuries inflicted on her neck area.
She said there was evidence of defensive injuries and Bennett had also tried to suffocate Ms Woolley.
Afterwards, she said, he bought himself time and played the part of the hard-done boyfriend who had found his girlfriend dead.
‘He sought to duck and dive, misleading the police, too cowardly to accept what he had done,’ said Miss Goodwin.
She said he had tried to burn some clothing and had gone out in a car, driven by his mother, on a Sunday morning and dumped items from the flat including a knife which he threw into a canal.
The court heard how a mistake by Lynda Bennett helped police to ‘unlock’ the case against her son.
Dashcam footage in her car seized by cops showed him getting rid of potential evidence linking him to the killing, including a knife he used to stab the victim, which he threw into a canal.
Other evidence found on Bennett’s phone found he had researched: ‘The best way to get revenge on a woman’.
Ian Bennett did not give evidence during the trial but had claimed to police that, during an argument, Ms Woolley had been aggressive and had a knife and that afterwards he had no memory of what happened because he had blacked out.
The family of Kerry (pictured) say they will never forgive Bennett for taking her life
Pictured: Bodycam footage from the scene showed Bennett crying to officers after he claimed he found Kerry’s body in her flat because he went round to check on her, adding ‘it’s horrific’
Police body-cam footage captured Bennett’s crocodile tears as he tells officers: ‘I’ve been trying to call and ring her all day, no answers.
‘So I thought I’d knock on. The door wasn’t open so I had to pull the handle and then I walked into that…found her dead.’ He then points at the door and sobs: ‘It’s horrific.’
Lynda Bennett told the jury she was not aware of her son dumping items or that he had harmed Ms Woolley.
Ian Bennett was handed a life sentence and must serve a minimum of 25 years before he is considered for release.
Jailing Bennett for life, Judge Melbourne Inman QC said: ‘[Ian] Bennett you have been convicted on overwhelming evidence.
‘You went to her flat. You left the flat two-and-a-half hours later. During that time you savagely attacked Kerry. You used serious physical violence on her.
Pictured: Police on the scene where Kerry was found dead at a flat in Solihull last year
‘The violence was on any view extreme. When you used the knives Kerry was still conscious.
‘This was obviously a sustained attack. Kerry must have been wholly terrified before she suffered the fatal injuries
‘Having killed her you set about in a calm and collected manner trying to get away with it.
‘You are an extremely dangerous man. I am satisfied that the starting point is 15 years.
‘An experienced pathologist said it was one of the most horrific murders he had seen. There is no significant mitigation in your case.’
Jailing Lynda Bennett for three years, Judge Inman added: ‘You, Lynda Bennett, made determined efforts to assist your son.
‘The actions you took had a profound effect on the administration of justice.
‘It was mere good fortune that your car had CCTV which revealed what you had done.
Pictured: Ian’s mother Lynda arrived on scene after being called by her son and spoke to police
Dashcam footage in Lynda’s car showed Bennett (right) getting rid of evidence linking him to the killing, including a knife he used to stab the victim. Pictured: Ian and Lynda Bennett
‘It is clear you have no remorse whatsoever. I accept you had misguided but genuine love for your son.’
In a victim impact statement read to the court her family described Kerry as a ‘beautiful, bubbly lady who had a heart of gold’.
They went on to say that it is ‘unbearable to think that she will not get to see her children grow up’.
Detective Sergeant Rory Juss, from West Midlands Police CID, said after the case: ‘Ian Bennett unleashed a vicious and brutal attack on Kerry Woolley, a woman he had only been in a relationship with for a matter of a few short weeks.
‘He then chose to blatantly lie about what had happened but quickly became unstuck as the evidence mounted up against him.
‘In particular the dashcam from his mother’s car showed how he’d enlisted her help as he disposed of the items that would ultimately tie him to his crime.
‘Neither Ian Bennett nor his mother Lynda have once shown any remorse for their part in this terrible crime and it was pleasing to see that the evidence we were able to put before the jury enabled them to see through their lies.
‘Our thoughts have always been with Kerry’s family, and we hope that Bennett’s conviction, and also that of his mother, can now bring them some comfort.’
