Southport taxi driver jailed for double murder
Andrew Flood sentenced to at least 30 years in prison after admitting murdering two of his elderly passengersMonday 23 July 2012 18.07 BSTA debt-ridden taxi driver who murdered two of his elderly passengers in their homes and robbed another victim in "unspeakably wicked crimes" has been jailed for at least 30 years.
Andrew Flood, 43, from Southport, pleaded guilty at Liverpool crown court to murdering Margaret Biddolph, 78, and Anne Leyland, 88, who also lived in the seaside town. .
Flood was captured on CCTV smiling outside a bookmakers' shop after Leyland had been murdered on 20 February, and his car was later seen a mile away from Biddolph's house. It is thought she was murdered on the same day.
Two days before the murders, he robbed another elderly customer, Margaret Suckley, of jewellery and cash from her home in Southport and threatened to kill her cat. She survived the attack and was able to pick out Flood in a police identity parade.
Flood wept when he entered guilty pleas to two counts of murder and one count of robbery. The recorder of Liverpool, Judge Goldstone QC, said on Monday he could not be certain that Flood pre-planned the killings but said they were "unspeakably wicked crimes".
Flood, a married father-of-four, strangled his victims using either a dressing gown cord or a telephone charger cable. He was described as a "desperate" man who was in £18,000 debt and couldn't afford the rent on his family's home.
Biddolph's body was discovered at her house on 21 February, and Leyland was found dead at her home in the early hours of 22 February, the court heard.
The judge said Flood knew where the women lived because as a private hire taxi driver he had driven them to and from their homes. He said the women "entrusted their safety" to him.
Suckley, a retired midwife, escaped after Flood appeared at her home on 18 February, two days after she had used his taxi, and stole £540 from a cash box and tore jewellery off her arm, threatening to kill her cat.
Nicholas Johnson, QC, prosecuting, said: "Mrs Leyland had been strangled with the cord from her dressing gown she was wearing when she answered the door to Flood." After the murder, on 20 February, he was captured on CCTV leaving a Ladbrokes betting shop in Southport at 2.43pm. His taxi was captured on CCTV in Haig Street, a mile from Biddolph's house, 25 minutes later.
John McDermott, QC, defending, said, "There is no simple or rational explanation for why a man of previous good character, a family man, has committed these terrible crimes. This case will remain largely unexplained."
Source; http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jul/2 ... sfeed=true
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