A man has been sentenced to a minimum of 32 years in prison for the murder of a "devoted dad" and the attempted murder of his brother in Basingstoke earlier this year.
His girlfriend has also been sentenced to 30 months in prison for perverting the course of justice.
As previously reported, Kenneth Walker, 64, of Tasmania Close, Popley, was found guilty of the murder of Craig Laurie and the attempted murder of Scott Laurie, following a trial that concluded at Winchester Crown Court last week.
Jane Byrne was found guilty of trying to clean up the crime scene, dispose of the murder weapon, lying, and helping Walker evade police following the stabbing.
The fatal stabbing occurred on May 12, when Craig and Scott Laurie went to Walker’s house in Popley.
Walker stabbed both men, leaving Craig Laurie fatally wounded. Scott Laurie managed to flee the scene, covered in blood, and survived his injuries.
After he was arrested, Walker admitted to being under the influence of alcohol and drugs and said he answered the door armed with a knife "out of fear".
He said that an argument escalated, leading to the stabbings, but the prosecution, led by Sean Brunton KC, argued that his actions were deliberate and not in self-defence, as claimed by the defence team headed by Jeremy Wainwright KC.
Ultimately, the jurors found Walker guilty of murder as they found his action was not justified by any immediate threat.
On Tuesday, December 3, the court heard witness impact statements of Craig Laurie's partner April Gray and sister Jade Oram ahead of the sentencing.
"Craig was wildly taken from us leaving an unimaginable void in our lives," said Ms Gray in her statement, which was read out by the investigation officer Lauran Howard.
"He was not only my partner but also the devoted father of our children who now have to grow up without the loving presence of their dad.
"Since that tragic day, we have been consumed by grief, fear and profound emptiness that words cannot fully capture."
Reading out her statement, Mrs Oram said: "You [Walker] have stolen a father from his children, a brother from his siblings, and an uncle from his nephews.
In mitigation, Walker's counsel requested the judge to consider his age, while Alexandra Scott, the defence counsel for Ms Byrne, told the judge that her client acted out of vulnerability.
Sentencing both, Mrs Justice Cutts rejected Walker's mitigation arguments saying he showed no remorse even after he was arrested.
For the murder offence, the judge sentenced him to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 32 years and 165 days in prison before being considered for release.
He was also sentenced for 22 years in prison for the attempted murder offence, and this will be served concurrently.
This means Walker will be in prison at least until he is 96 years old.
The judge gave some mitigation to Ms Byrne after considering letters from her psychiatric doctor and her mum.
She should serve 30 months for perverting the course of justice in the case of murder and 12 months concurrent in the case of attempted murder.
But she only has to serve half of this in custody and she will be released on licence after 15 months.
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