Overview
- Judge Edward Bindloss sentenced Brenda Heslop, 63, to life with a minimum term of 20 years at Newcastle Crown Court, with time on remand credited.
- Heslop waited outside John Hardy’s Sceptre Place home and fatally stabbed the 68-year-old after confronting him about the money.
- Evidence played in court included CCTV audio of the confrontation, with Hardy saying, “Here Brenda, you’ve stabbed us,” before he died from a chest wound.
- The court heard Heslop has a long psychiatric history, but the judge found no evidence of psychosis at the time of the killing.
- Northumbria Police called the attack “despicable” and urged the public to report anyone believed to be carrying a knife.