Lewes landlady murder: Lodger Richard Canlin jailed

A lodger who murdered his landlady and dumped her body in a wheelie bin after she asked him to move out has been jailed.

Richard Canlin, 41, of no fixed address, had denied murdering Nicola Stevenson but was convicted at Hove Crown Court.

Jurors heard he carried out a "frenzied attack" on Ms Stevenson, striking her with a hammer no fewer than 11 times.

Her partially-decomposed remains were found in Lewes in November last year.

On Wednesday, Judge Shani Barnes jailed Canlin for life with a minimum of 22 years.

The judge said Ms Stevenson was the daughter of loving parents and the mother of two young children, who were in care but had stayed in touch with her.

Judge Barnes said: "It is always extremely sad when someone so young dies, but to have been murdered in such a brutal manner, to have been disposed of in such a brutal way.…you rendered her completely worthless."

The judge told Canlin he was "a consistent and persistent liar" who clearly had a moderate personality disorder.

Jurors heard how Ms Stevenson had emailed a police officer on 10 October, the day she was killed, asking for help because her lodger was "getting abusive".

The judge told Canlin: "I feel that you were almost certainly jealous that she had a flat and was cared for by social services. You determined you were not going to leave."

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Ms Stevenson's mother Jennifer Ashby said her daughter's death had been "an act of horror".

Describing her daughter as feisty and determined, she said: "No parent should ever have to bury their child."

After the hearing, Det Ch Insp Chris Friday said Ms Stevenson had allowed Canlin to stay at her flat in Stansfield Road and when she asked him to leave he took advantage of her kindness and attacked her.

He said: "He then carried on as if nothing had happened, assuming Nicola's life, spending her money on things for himself, living in her property and telling friends she had gone away."