Double killer told in court: I hope you rot

A MAN who murdered his partner and then minutes later stabbed the mother of his three children to death told police when he was arrested “I have done what had to be done”.

Alan Bennett, 34, will serve at least 32 years and 233 days behind bars after he admitted murdering Lynne Freeman, 46, and Jodie Betteridge, 30, in Redcar.

He stabbed Ms Betteridge 132 times, some of which was seen by their children who were just four, six and nine, and one witness said he looked like a “crazed maniac”.

A friend of Ms Freeman who saw them out together earlier on March 23 saw him push her over and, drunk and angry, say he had “lost my kids” and claim he was not allowed to see them.

Judge Simon Bourne-Arton sentenced Bennett to two life sentences at Teesside Crown Court and told him both his victims were vulnerable.

A significant aggravating factor was that he killed his children’s mother as they watched in horror, the judge said.

Social services and the courts had decided that Bennett, who had a history of domestic abuse with both women, should not have unsupervised contact with his children because of his personality.

He thought Ms Betteridge was a “bad parent”, never considering it was he who had the problem, the judge said saying Bennett had sent him a letter “full of selfpity”.

As Bennett was led away, a grieving relative in the public gallery shouted: “I hope you rot.”