Overview
- Ross Clancy, 40, was sentenced Tuesday at Newcastle Crown Court to life in prison with a minimum term of 28 years.
- Prosecutors said he forced his way into a couple’s Elswick home on November 21, attacked them with a hammer, and fled in their car.
- The woman, 65, has substantial brain damage and her family told the court she will not live independently again.
- He pleaded guilty in March to attempted murder of the woman, grievous bodily harm with intent against her partner, and assault on another woman.
- The court heard he had 76 prior convictions and had been released on licence about a month earlier, after which he stole from a pawnbroker and robbed a Sunderland betting shop the day before the attack.