The Most Dangerous Woman in the UK Prison System

It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that a serial killer should be creepy, male and have a terrible and abusive childhood. I may have overstated the case. Sure, there's some wiggle room in there for outliers like Bundy, only creepy after the fact, and Eileen Wuornos… but for the most part, the average person's mind will go straight to John Wayne Gacy or Ed Gein.

Complete shudder fest.

For me, the most fascinating serial killer in British history is one barely known to most Brits and largely ignored by the rest of the world. Her murders were committed within the last ten years but many UK residents wouldn't know the name. She subverts almost everything we understand about serial killers.

Her name is Joanna Christine Dennehy and she is widely considered to be the most dangerous woman in the UK Prison system. I'd love to link you to her wikipedia page - but she doesn't have one.

See what I mean about flying under the radar?

A perfectly normal upbringing.

Joanne was born in a town called St Albans in Hertfordshire in 1982. St Albans was for many years the first major town on the old Roman road called Watling Street which heads north-west out of London towards Wales.

The town has many famous notable residents including Bruce Forsyth, ('nice to remember you, to remember you .... !'), The author Michael Morpurgo, Irish comedian Ardal O'Hanlan, the singer David Essex and from 1978 until his death in 1999, and the ever controversial Stanley Kubrick.

St Albans is renowned for its many excellent historical pubs and as a prime location for commuting into North London. There are also some darker parts.

Two serial killers for example. Joanna Dennehy and Graham Frederick Young - the "Teacup Poisoner." Yes, I am aware of how quaint and British it sounds and no, it wasn't an Agatha Christie novel.

He's worth a side read if you have a moment.

Interestingly, neither of these serial killers came from broken homes. Dennehy was brought up by two loving parents and was very popular at school. The family unit was, by all accounts, a strong and cohesive one. If there were any instances of abuse, these have not come to light.

CREDIT: Young Joanna Dennehy (BBC)Trouble was to rear its head when Joanna hit her teen years. A rebellious phase coincided with the arrival of drink and drugs. She moved from being a quiet, well-mannered young student into someone far darker and more sinister.

Friends from this era refer to her as manipulative with a strong need to control and hurt others. Behind the angelic facade, a darker and more sadistic sociopathic personality was emerging.

For those closest to her, it became apparent that Joanna's behaviour was not in line with her peer group. Following years of arguments with both her mother and father, Joanna left the family home altogether. Although she was still only fifteen when she moved in with twenty-year-old John Treanor, neither police, nor social services elected to intervene.

The relationship was fuelled by drink, drugs and self-harm. Joanna's descent into sociopathic madness had concluded in a tempestuous occasionally violent relationship that neither party was prepared to leave.

In 1999 and at the age of 17, Joanna gave birth to a baby girl, whom the couple named Shianne.

A doting mother

Shianne's recollections of her mother are somewhat mixed. She remembers her mother as a 'really big kid' and one who wasn't shy about getting involved at play-times. She loved to take long walks and was frequently found curled up on the sofa reading classic novels.

A world away from the serial killer she would become.

The relationship between Joanna and John was still tempestuous and there was a great deal of conflict. Nevertheless, they had a second child a few years later.

In reality, it would seem the role of 'doting mother' was one which Joanna was playing. For John Treanor, it became increasingly apparent that her narcissism, self-harm and violent outbursts were increasing in magnitude and duration.

The final straw came when Dennehy stabbed a large knife into the floor during a heated discussion. Treanor took the children and left within a few days, the two would never reunite.

Joanna Dennehy sank further into drink and drugs.

A petty criminal

Within a few years, Joanna Dennehy was a fully-fledged alcoholic and petty criminal. She had fallen deep into the underworld both psychologically and practically. She was arrested and convicted of theft in 2012, the first indication by mental health professionals that things were far more dangerous than they seemed.

A complete psychological examination followed and Dennehy was diagnosed with Anti-social Personality Disorder. Notes from this time include reference to her impulsivity, simmering rage and propensity for violence.

These would be made manifest within two years. In the meantime, however, Dennehy was given medication to regulate her moods.

In 2013 and out on probation for assault, Dennehy found herself back on the streets. It was here that she met a man called Kevin Lee. A landlord in Peterborough, Lee specialised in accommodating those who might otherwise fall through the cracks in the UK social housing sector.

Dennehy had found a saviour, and although he didn't know it yet, Kevin Lee had met the woman who would end his life.

Dennehy agreed to act as Lee's 'enforcer', threatening other residents who had missed payments and in return she would be allowed to live rent-free. Convinced her life was turning itself around and she was more in control than ever before, Dennehy stopped taking her medication.

It would prove to be a fatal mistake.

The first two murders

On the 19th March 2013, a polish immigrant named Lucasz Slaboszewski responded to a text from Joanna. The two had met on the streets of Peterborough some days earlier and Lucasz was convinced of her interest in him.

He'd texted a friend to say his life was becoming beautiful now that he had Joanna as a girlfriend.

The text from Dennehy was an invitation to her flat which he accepted. After drinking and chatting together, she convinced the young polish man to put on a blindfold as part of a game.

Once his eyes were covered she stabbed him through the heart.

She would later tell the forensic psychiatrist who interviewed her - "I killed to see how I would feel, to see if I was as cold as I thought I was. Then it got moreish."

Dennehy called a friend of hers. Gary 'Stretch' Richards. At 7"3' tall he was more than capable of disposing of the body for her. Richards arrived at the flat and the two of them moved Lucasz Slaboszewski's body to a wheelie bin outside.

'Stretch' was smitten with Joanna. He would do anything to help her, an inversion of the normal gender balance of psychopathic male with a female accomplice.

She likely showed off the corpse to a 14-year-old girl who lived on the estate. Though Dennehy denies doing this, the witness testimony was compelling enough to convince the judge it happened. Over the next two days, Dennehy borrowed money from her landlord to purchase a Vauxhall Astra for getting rid of the body.

She and Richards then drove to a remote area of Peterborough and dumped the body in a ditch.

Dennehy wasn't lying to the forensic psychiatrist about her addiction to killing and a little over a week later on the evening of the 28th March, she showed up at a neighbour's bedsit.

John Chapman was fifty six years old and a military veteran of the Falklands war. He was off fighting for his country when Dennehy was born. Life had subsequently been unkind to Chapman and he'd found himself addicted to alcohol.

Whatever demons might have befallen him, he was completely unaware of the demon sitting in his flat. Dennehy sat with him, drank with him and, once he'd fallen asleep, she stabbed him once in the neck and five times in the chest.

There was no evidence he tried to defend himself.

Dennehy then called 'Stretch', once again joking with him, singing 'Oops, I did it again'. Her bloodlust was becoming uncontrollable.

The third murder and first mistake

Dennehy's third murder was in part her undoing. For many months previously she had woven an intricate series of lies, bringing her landlord Kevin Lee into her life. She told him that she'd been grossly abused as a child and that she'd spent time in prison for killing her abusive father.

None of that was true. Nevertheless, Kevin Lee became enmeshed in a complex web of manipulation and was quickly drawn into a dangerous sexual relationship. What began as a genuine desire to help Dennehy was turned quickly into something much darker.

When Dennehy decided to kill him she made a fatal mistake. Her first two victims were largely off the societal radar - they wouldn't be immediately missed for some time - but Kevin Lee was a much-loved father of two.

With John Chapman's body still in his bedsit, Dennehy invited Kevin Lee over to her home with the promise of sex. He was stabbed five times in the chest and heart but, unlike the previous victim, had tried to defend himself.

With two bodies to dispose of, she, Stretch and a third man called Leslie Layton set an elaborate ruse. John Chapman's body was dumped in the same ditch as Lucasz Slaboszewski, Kevin Lee's body was driven to a different part of town and his car was set alight.

Now all three faced a dilemma and were effectively on the run.

They returned home in the car that had been bought with Kevin Lee's money.

The Easter Weekend

Kevin Lee's body was found semi-naked; he'd been put in a sequinned dress and positioned sexually. For the first time, the police began to realise that they were dealing with someone on the fringes of natural human psychology.

As there was little evidence of a struggle, police rightly believed that Kevin Lee had known his killer. Mobile phone data obtained during the investigation placed two people at the scene of the crime. One was a female tenant, Dennehy, and the other was Gary 'Stretch' Richards.

Police drew the erroneous conclusion that it was the 7"3' Stretch who was the likely culprit. He was nowhere to be found, and even more troublingly, it seemed he was on the run with Joanna Dennehy.

Across the 30th and 31st of March 2012, Dennehy and Stretch hid out with a man called Robert Moore. It was his daughter who had been shown the corpse in the wheelie bin.

Like many men, Robert Moore was infatuated with Dennehy and covered for her. He would pay dearly for this dangerous infatuation.

Flee to Hereford and final stabbings

On the 1st of April, the couple burgled a house in Diss, Norfolk, on the East coast of England. They then fled to Herefordshire on the border of Wales and England, as Gary Stretch had family and friends in the area.

Once they were there, they committed another burglary. The couple was on the run and had devised a joint fantasy about being the new Bonnie and Clyde.

They met with a local criminal called Mark Lloyd who had agreed to help them sell on the stolen items but who quickly realised he'd become embroiled in something far darker than the simple selling of stolen goods.

With the police closing in the behaviour of the pair became more erratic. Lloyd became increasingly concerned for his own safety and reported that Dennehy was very much in charge of the car.

She declared that Stretch had 'had his fun, and it was her turn'.

Whilst they were driving, Dennehy spotted a solitary man and demanded the car was stopped. Sixty-four-year-old Robin Bereza, an ex-firefighter was stabbed in the back and then in the arm.

When he turned to confront his assailant she told him, "I want to hurt you, I am going to fucking kill you". The two tussled for a while as he attempted to escape. Only the arrival of another car at the junction stopped her frenzied attack.

She smiled at the driver of this car as she climbed back into the Vauxhall Astra. Robin Bereza was left in a pool of his own blood.

With her lust for blood not sated, Dennehy demanded another victim and Stretch was only too happy to provide. He drove the car to a well-known area for dog walkers, where fifty-seven-year-old John Roberts became Dennehy's fifth victim. She stabbed him in excess of thirty times and took his dog.

Even though she had set about killing the two men on the 2nd of April, both Roberts and Bereza miraculously survived Dennehy's murderous onslaught.

When the police apprehended Dennehy a few minutes later, Roberts dog was still on her lap.

Arrest, escape and conviction

During her arrest for the stabbings in Hereford, Dennehy was the epitome of cockiness. She complained about the clothes she was expected to wear. When asked about her state of mind she replied.

"Am I suicidal? No… Am I cheery now? Yes… Would you be cheery if you were up for attempted murder and murder?"

Later, in the same conversation, she would quip.

"Attempted murder and murder. It could be worse… I could be big, fat and ugly."

Whilst in custody and being questioned about the stabbings and murder of Kevin Lee, the bodies of the other two victims were discovered.

Dennehy was charged with the murder of Kevin Lee and the attempted murders of Robin Bereza and John Rogers on the 8th of May. Forensics soon showed a connection between all of the crimes. They concluded the same knife had been used for all three murders and both attempted murders.

Awaiting trial, Dennehy continued to get love letters from Stretch and planned her own escape. It involved murdering a prison guard and severing off a finger to fool the biometric system.

Dennehy was placed in solitary confinement, something she protested was against her human rights. In November 2013, the case came to court. Dennehy made one final surprising twist. She unexpectedly pleaded guilty to all charges shouting 'guilty, guilty, guilty' at the judge.

This is entirely in keeping with a narcissistic personality and a final attempt to demonstrate that she was exerting some control over proceedings. It would be her last grandiose gesture.

The judge made her the third woman in UK history to be given a whole of life order noting:

"I have read the psychiatric report on you from Dr Farnham, dated 26th October 2013. I note that his assessment is that you suffer from a severe emotionally unstable personality disorder, and from an antisocial personality disorder. In his opinion you also suffer from paraphilia sadomasochism, a disorder of preference for sexual activity involving the infliction of pain or humiliation or bondage. It is Dr Farnham's assessment that you suffer from a psychopathic disorder, that is a personality disorder characterised by superficial charm, callous disregard for others, pathological lying and a diminished capacity for remorse."

Dennehy laughed as she was led away to face the rest of her life in prison. She adapted very quickly to her new life.

Rose West, indirectly or directly responsible for the death of twelve young women in Gloucestershire, is said to have found Dennehy so unsettling that she requested to be moved to a different prison.

Dennehy has earned her reputation as the most dangerous woman in the UK prison system.

The Aftermath

Richards and Leslie Layton were both convicted for their parts in the murder and subsequent perverting the course of justice. Richards continued to profess his love for Dennehy throughout. His defence lawyers argued he was intimidated and scared for his life but this was dismissed by the jury.

He was sentenced to 19 years.

Leslie Layton and Robert Moore were given ten years and three years respectively for their part in the cover-up and protection of the pair. Mark Lloyd was acquitted of all charges and his testimony helped convict Dennehy and Richards.

Neither her sister nor her parents have been to see Joanna Dennehy in prison and they have no intention of doing so. Maria lays the blame for her sister's descent into psychotic madness at the feet of Joanna's ex-partner, John Treanor.

John has since re-married and has refused to be pulled into a public slanging match with the Dennehy family. He is quoted as saying

"You can write what you want about me. All I care about is that my children are safe".

Joanna Dennehy (Left) and daughter Shianne Treanor (right). CREDIT: The SunThe couple's daughter Shianne was bullied and sank into a deep depression after the events of 2013. She reconnected with her mother briefly when she turned sixteen and has apologised to the families of all the victims.

Since then she has broken off contact completely and is resolute in her belief her mother should remain in jail indefinitely. She now lives in Manchester and is training to work in tourism.

Dennehy has had a number of 'relationships' whilst in prison. She was dating another convicted killer, Emma Aitken but the two split under acrimonious circumstances. She now has a new fianceé, Hayley Palmer, a street robber who became infatuated with Dennehy whilst in prison.

Hayley is out of prison and now petitioning to be allowed to get married to the serial killer who has become the love of her life.

Final thoughts

Hayley Palmer may discover to her dismay that psychopaths like Joanna Dennehy do not have feelings for other humans. Other people are merely objects to be controlled and discarded when they are no longer useful.

It is evident that every person in Joanna's life was a means to an end, that end becoming ever more malevolent and nihilistic as time wore on.

Although the tally of her murders is not as high as either the Moors Murderer Myra Hindley or 25 Cromwell Street killer Rose West, Dennehy has shown zero remorse for her actions. Unlike both of those women who had horrific childhood experiences, Dennehy had little reason to turn to misandry and murder.

She killed in cold blood for her own morbid sexual satisfaction.

Her charm and magnetic personality lured three men to their deaths and three more to lengthy prison sentences. Her flirtations with the police, showmanship in the courtroom and subsequent manipulative behaviour are indicative of psychopathy.

She may not be as well-known as Ted Bundy, but the two share a great many of the same traits.

Both were opportunistic killers, sexual sadists with the power to wrap others around their little finger. Joanna Dennehy will die in prison and there is no doubt this is the best place for her. As the US learned with Ted Bundy, only the smallest opportunity is required for someone like this to kill again.

She now has a taste for blood and should never have the opportunity to explore this aspect of her disordered personality further.

Disclaimer

Some of the details of this case have been simplified for brevity - particularly the role of Gary Richards's ex-partner, details about the gun he carried and discarded and the different addresses pertaining to the case. Some of the more explicit details have been sanitised.

If you would like to read a more detailed version you can find the Judge's summary and sentencing of the case here.