Life for ‘Jeremy Kyle’ killer of frail grandma, 75

Liam Naylor, 23, was handed a life sentence today after committing the cold-blooded attack on grandmother Doreen Walker, 75, earlier this year in a murder the judge described as “chilling” and “for gain”.

Naylor, who described himself as a “superstud” when he appeared on Jeremy Kyle show just weeks before the murder, throttled, beat and stabbed Mrs Walker multiple times at her home in Barnsley in April this year.

Mrs Walker, known as “Dotty”, had picked up £104 of her pension on the morning of her murder before Naylor, who had been in a relationship with her granddaughter Keeley Sweeney, 17, visited her house and launched the “savage, brutal and sustained attack”.

Sheffield Crown Court heard the depraved murderer spent Doreen’s cash on drinks for friends, including Miss Sweeney, and a McDonald’s later that evening.

Naylor denied the charge of murder - saying he had killed the pensioner in “self-defence” when she got angry at discovering him steal her jewellery - but was found guilty by a jury on Thursday, who took just two hours to reach their decision.

In a victim statement read out by prosecutor Simon Whaley, Doreen’s Daughter Sharon said: “My mum was such a loving kind woman who saw the good in everybody, sometimes too much at times.

“She was the rock holding us all together. The day I found out she had been taken from us was the day my heart was torn from my chest.

“I keep going over it in my mind - did he torture her? Did she suffer? I have images in my mind of her suffering and I try to close my eyes to make it stop but they won’t go away.”

She added: “My mum didn’t have much but she was happy. Her one pleasure was to have her hair cut, but she stopped because she didn’t have enough money.

“I’m scared to be alone at night in the house, especially when my husband is out. [Naylor] has taken all my confidence away.”

Sentencing Naylor, Judge Julian Goose QC said: “Doreen Walker was a 75-year-old pensioner killed in her home after a savage and brutal attack.

“This was a murder for gain so that you could steal her pension money, which was £104, and after that murder you arranged to go out with your friends and spent it on alcohol, cigarettes and fast food.

“This was a particularly serious murder. You knew Doreen Walker - she had shown you kindness and gave you food. You knew she was collecting her pension money that morning and that she kept it in her bedroom.

“On that day you had arranged to go out with your friends and it was your turn to pay, but you had no money.

“On 9.34 that evening you went to Doreen Walker’s door. She was in her nightdress and slippers ready for bed. By 11.25 she had been murdered with a large kitchen knife.

“She had over 40 injuries with the knife stuck in her neck. She was found with stab wounds in her lungs, heart, chest and the back of her neck.”

Sentencing Naylor to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 33 years, Judge Goose said the attack was made even more “chilling” by the fact Naylor had continued to text his friends in the house before getting a taxi to go out.

Naylor, who has one previous conviction for theft, was emotionless in the dock as the judge told him: “The aggravating features in this case are that this was a particularly brutal murder and caused the deceased considerable suffering.

“It was a murder of a vulnerable pensioner, and that you knew she was alone in the house and that she would be no match for you.

“Finally, you spent her money on yourself, including on alcohol, cigarettes and fast food.”

Doreen Walker’s family breathed sighs of relief as the judge passed his sentence, shouting at Naylor as he was taken down to the cells.