01 February 2023 , 12:09
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A man has been jailed for life after murdering his girlfriend and an associate weeks after being released from prison.
Lee Peacock, 50, has been sentenced at the Old Bailey to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 39 years over the murders of Sharon Pickles and Clinton Ashmore.
The pair were killed during a two-day spree of violence while on licence in August 2021.
A jury found him guilty of the double murder on Tuesday, and Mr Justice Murray handed down his sentence in a court room packed with grieving relatives on Wednesday - while Peacock refused to attend.
In his remarks addressed to Peacock, Mr Justice Murray said: “The minimum term I must impose in this case means that even if you live a long life, there is a strong possibility that you will die in prison even before you are eligible for consideration for release by the Parole Board”.
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Clinton Ashmore was found dead at his flat in Westminster in August 2021 (PA)
Sharon Pickles who was found dead at her flat in Marylebone in August 2021 (PA)Mr Justice Murray said that Peacock “lashed out at Sharon in a fit of rage, jealous of her sexual relationship with another man” while a bedridden man she cared for slept in another room.
He concluded that while the killing of Ms Pickles was not premeditated, the later murder of Mr Ashmore was.
He claimed the death of his “other half” was a “pure accident” and that Mr Ashmore “went mental” and punched him in the head after Peacock confessed to killing Ms Pickles.
Police at the murder scene in Marylebone, London, August 22 last year (SWNS)He claimed Mr Ashmore was part of a gang he blamed for exploiting Ms Pickles while he was in jail by selling her drugs.
A jury retired at the Old Bailey on Tuesday and deliberated for two hours and 20 minutes to find Peacock guilty of the double murder.
The Mirror reported yesterday how Peacock was out to “punish” his partner and Clinton Ashmore, 59, during a two-day violent spree through Westminster in August 2021, the Old Bailey heard.
The self-confessed burglar and thief turned the 4cm-long knife on himself when police tracked him down to a houseboat on the Grand Union Canal after a five-day manhunt.
The last sighting of Sharon Pickles before she was found dead at her flat in Marylebone (PA)Peacock, who had only been released from prison on June 4 2021, admitted killing the pair but denied it was murder.
Mr Justice Murray yesterday adjourned sentencing until today.
During the trial, prosecutor Edward Brown KC had described Peacock’s actions as “cold-blooded” and “determined”.
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Peacock previously told jurors: "I know I'm not a monster. I never wanted to harm my partner. Clinton, I'm sorry but he caused it.
The Old Bailey where Lee Peacock, was sentenced at to life imprisonment (Getty Images)The killer was said to have self-harmed when officers found him, and was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Ms Pickles' father David Pickles said in a victim impact statement that losing his daughter had had a devastating effect, only two years after the death of his wife in 2019.
He said: "It left me numb, I have found it impossible to celebrate birthdays or even Christmas because my daughter wasn't at rest and had no peace.
"It doesn't feel real that Sharon is gone, I miss her more than words can describe."