Teenage boy who killed woman and posted video of murder on Snapchat sentenced to life in detention

LAST UPDATE | 20 hrs ago

A HIGH COURT judge has described a teenage murderer’s actions in posting a video of his 51-year-old victim to Snapchat as “sickening”.

Mr Justice Paul McDermott noted that a probation report for the boy recorded that he had an “unhealthy interest” in well-known male role models who “peddle extreme beliefs” which had shaped his thinking and encouraged a negative attitude towards women.

The teenager has been sentenced to life in detention with a review after 15 years for killing 51-year-old Lorna Woodnutt in September 2023.

The Central Criminal Court heard at the child’s sentencing hearing last July that the boy, who is under 18 and cannot be named under the Children’s Act, had sent a blood-splattered selfie with the victim’s faceless body.

Passing sentence today, Mr Justice McDermott said Ms Woodnutt had suffered a sustained assault, which the teen had carried out with an “extraordinary level of brutality and viciousness”.

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