Derbyshire double murderer Rhys Hancock who killed wife and her new lover 'was on the border' of being jailed for the rest of his life

Rhys Hancock was jailed for a minimum of 31 years at Derby Crown Court for the murders of his estranged wife Helen Hancock, 39, and her 48-year-old lover Martin Griffiths in an attack on New Year’s Day.

The 40-year-old went to the home they had shared and stabbed Mrs Hancock 66 times, and Mr Griffiths 37 times.

Sentencing him, Judge Nirmal Shant QC said: “What you did has deprived two families of people they loved and no sentence I impose will seem adequate to them and nothing I do can fill the undoubted void that the death of Helen and Martin has left in their lives. You have left your own three young children without a mother and Martin Griffith’s children without a father.

"You have returned from the public house and it seems as the evening went on you made the decision to kill not just your wife Helen from whom you were estranged but also her companion Martin Griffiths.

“This was a premeditated killing. You had been making enquiries over the preceding days to find out what was going on in Helen’s life. You went into your mother’s bedroom and declared that the man was at your house. You had it seemed driven to the address even though you had been drinking. You announced to your mother that you wanted to kill them.

"She thought you were declaring your feelings rather than sharing an intent. You then went downstairs and armed yourself with two knives from your mother’s kitchen both of these formidable weapons. One a chopping knife with a curved base approximately 18cm long and the second was longer about 30-32 cm long used for slicing rather than chopping.

"You then made your way to Helen Hancock’s home where she was entitled to feel safe, entered that home and attacked them both in a brutal attack that resulted in their deaths. This case is in my judgement on the borderline and that alone should cause the court to pause before imposing a life order."

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