Killer jailed for murdering stranger on her own doorstep

A calculated killer has been jailed for life for murdering a stranger as she sat on her doorstep while her child slept upstairs.

Anthony Stinson, 31, from Blackburn, murdered Charlotte Wilcock, also 31, in a random attack as she sat in the doorway of her home on Primrose Terrace, Blackburn, shortly after 9pm on 3 March.

At 7.53am the following morning Stinson contacted police to hand himself in.

Following his call, officers attended Ms Wilcock's home where they found her behind her front door.

She had received approximately 100 injuries, including 11 defence knife wounds to her hands and injuries consistent with punching, kicking, and biting.

Ms Wilcock's young daughter was found upstairs inside the house where she had been alone all night.

In the hours before the attack, Stinson had been out socialising with his friends.

Following the attack, he left the scene, picking up Ms Wilcock's phone and leaving his own behind in error.

Ms Wilcock's phone tracked his movements as he walked around the area, showing he had returned to his home nearby, where he changed his clothing before setting out again. He turned off her phone at 10.34pm.

In police interview he told officers that when he had passed by the front of Ms Wilcock's address, he had seen the Devil's face and believed it was the Devil he was attacking.

He also claimed he had not entered her home but his blood was found inside on the back door handle.

During the evening he returned to her address and buried her phone in her garden. He returned to the street one more time shortly after midnight.

The CPS worked closely with the police to build a strong case including CCTV and telephone evidence which showed Stinson in a rational state of mind both before and after the attack.

He pleaded guilty at Preston Crown Court on the first day of trial earlier this week, and has today been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 24 years and two months.

Katie Lord, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West, said: "Charlotte Wilcock should have been safe sitting on the doorstep of her own home – but instead she was brutally murdered while her young child slept upstairs.

"Anthony Stinson went out that night armed with a knife and intent on causing serious harm to someone. His appalling actions resulted in a young woman being robbed of her life and her children left without a mother.

"In the hours following the attack, Stinson concocted a story to relay to the police about seeing the devil. This was a total fabrication to cover up his horrific crime.

"He has shown no remorse and entered a guilty plea only when the medical evidence failed to support his case, showing utter disregard for Charlotte's loved ones.

"I hope as he begins this sentence it will be of some comfort to her family and friends that justice has been served. Our thoughts remain with them."