Street rampage killer made five warning calls

Nicola Edgington, 32, virtually decapitated 58-year-old Sally Hodkin during the savage attack in the Bexleyheath area of London in October 2011.

Edgington also tried to kill artist Kerry Clark, 22, in the same knife rampage.

She had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia after fatally stabbing her mother nine times in 2005 and sent to a secure mental hospital before being released for treatment in the community.

Yesterday Edgington was jailed for at least 37 years by an Old Bailey judge who branded her “exceptionally dangerous”.

The sentencing came as a series of failings in the police’s handling of the case were revealed.

Mrs Hodkin’s widower, Paul, told the court in a statement: “Forty years of marriage gone, wiped out in seconds by someone that should not have been on the streets.”

His solicitor, Daniel Rubinstein, said outside court: “While the family are relieved that a very dangerous woman has been taken off the streets, they remain concerned at the very many questions that remain over the actions of authorities and the alleged failure to treat clearly dangerous people in a secure environment.

“They will be considering further action to get answers in the hope that other families won’t have to go through the same appalling experience that they have.”

Edgington suffered a sudden relapse in her mental health in October 2011.

She was taken to the A&E department of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, south London, but walked out after becoming annoyed at being kept waiting.

Edgington made a series of phone calls to police while she was in the A&E department saying she was a danger to those around her.

After leaving, she took a bus to Bexleyheath and attacked Miss Clark and Mrs Hodkin, strangers on their way to work.

When Miss Clark grabbed Edgington’s knife – purchased that day from Asda – and kicked her away, she ran to a butcher’s shop and grabbed a larger blade.

She then attacked Mrs Hodkin, a law firm accounts clerk.

Edgington was found guilty at the Old Bailey last month of murdering Mrs Hodkin and attempting to murder Miss Clark.

John Cooper, QC, mitigating, said she was a woman in crisis and had not been given the help she asked for.

But the Recorder of London, Judge Brian Barker, said Edgington should take responsibility and stop blaming others.

Judge Barker told her that her behaviour had been “consistent and calculated”.

He said: “You are manipulative and exceptionally dangerous. What you did could not have been more selfish.

“I disagree that the responsibility for these acts can be laid on others. You made your choice and these were terrible acts for which you must take responsibility. You have come as near as can be to having three deaths on your hands.”

Miss Clark had escaped with only cuts to her hands because of her bravery and quick action, he said.

An Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) investigation found local police were not notified that Edgington was living in the area following her release from detention for the manslaughter of her mother.

It also found that, during their dealings with Edgington on the day of Mrs Hodkin’s murder, police failed to carry out a national computer check that would have alerted them to her previous conviction.

Scotland Yard said yesterday: “The IPCC have not made any recommendations but we recognise the need to continuously review our policies and procedures to ensure that officers and staff receive the most suitable and up to date training and that they act with total professionalism and integrity at all times.”