What happened to Joanna Dennehy's accomplice Gary Starch? (2024)

Over ten years ago, Joanna Dennehy stabbed three men to death in a chilling murder spree - but she didn't carry out the crimealone.

During a ten-day killing spree, Dennehy, 41, stabbed lover Kevin Lee and housemates Lukasz Slaboszewski and John Chapman, dumping each body in ditches in Cambridgeshire in March 2013.

After the killings, Dennehy and accomplice Gary Stretch, 58, drove to Hereford where she repeatedly stabbed two other men - Robin Bereza and John Rogers - at random, with the pair surviving the attack.

In 2014, Dennehy was handed a whole-life prison term - the third given to a total of four women in British history - while Stretch was found guilty and convicted of attempted murder.

Over a decade on, a gripping documentary - The Killing Spree: Hunting Joanna Dennehy - airs at 10pm on Channel 5 tonight, which offers a chilling insight into the life and crimes of the former Home Counties schoolgirl.

But, what happened to Joanna Dennehy's accomplice Gary Stretch and where is he now? Read on to find out.

Over ten years ago, Joanna Dennehy stabbed three men to death in a chilling murder spree - but she didn't carry out the crime alone

In 2014, Dennehy was handed a whole-life prison term - the third given to a total of four women in British history - while Stretch (pictured) was convicted of attempted murder

Who is Joanna Dennehy?

Joanna Dennehy, 41, is from St. Albans in Hertfordshire.

She was brought up in a stable family home in a rural area, where her mum Kathy worked as a shop assistant and dad Kevin worked in security.

However, Dennehy ran away from home at the age of sixteen and never returned.

Dennehy went on to have two children, including a daughter named Shianne Treanor, who was just 13 when her mother committed one of Britain's most heinous crimes.

In 2013, she was arrested after a ten-day killing spree, which left three men dead and two more in a critical condition.

Psychiatrists later diagnosed her with 'psychopathic, anti-social and emotional instability disorders' before she was jailed for life.

Joanna Dennehy pictured with a young girl and a teddy bear

Dennehy went on to have two children, including a daughter named Shianne Treanor, who was just 13 when her mother committed one of Britain's most heinous crimes

Psychiatrists later diagnosed Dennehy with 'psychopathic, anti-social and emotional instability disorders' before she was jailed for life

Who is Joanna Dennehy's accomplice Gary Starch?

In February 2014, two men were convicted of helping the serial killer who stabbed three men in the heart before dumping their bodies in ditches.

Read More 'Pure evil' serial killer Joanna Dennehy 'threatened to kill Rose West' within minutes of arriving at same prison as House of Horrors murderer 'in a bid to assert herself as top dog'

Gary Stretch, formerly known as Gary Richards, was found guilty of three counts of preventing the lawful burial of a body and one of attempted murder at Cambridge Crown Court.

Leslie Layton was also found guilty of perverting the course of justice.

After the Peterborough killings, Dennehy had bragged that she and Stretch were 'like Bonnie and Clyde' as they drove 140 miles across the country to search out two further victims, who were left in a critical condition after being repeatedly stabbed.

During the trial, prosecutors said Dennehy 'cast a spell' over her alleged accomplices and some of her victims as she killed 'for fun.'

After the Peterborough killings, Dennehy had bragged that she and Stretch were 'like Bonnie and Clyde' as they drove 140 miles across the country to search out further victims.

Stretch, from Peterborough, who stands 7ft 3in tall, was sentenced to life with a minimum of 19 years in February.

He was described in court as being a fearful 'nodding dog' to Dennehy, who herself was described by police as a 'sad*stic serial killer with a fearsome personality.'

Gary Stretch, formerly known as Gary Richards, was found guilty of three counts of preventing the lawful burial of a body and one of attempted murder at Cambridge Crown Court

Pictured: the knife used by Joanne Dennehy

Joanna Dennehy's co-conspirator Gary Stretch poses for a photo while they were on the run from police

Where is Gary Stretch now?

Stretch is currently spending his sentence at HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes.

The infatuated accomplice of the serial killer has sincelaunched two appeals against his life sentence, both of which were rejected by anAppeal Court judge in 2014.

At the Court of Appeal hearing in October 2014, Lord Justice Pitchford said the life sentence handed out to Stretch was appropriate to his crimes.

'The applicant, knowing that Dennehy was a serial killer and for that reason likely to kill again, assisted her to evade justice by concealing the bodies of her three victims.

'We agree with the judge first that the applicant presented a most serous danger to the public and second, that the sentence for the attempted murders must be condemnatory,' he said.

He added: 'We conclude that it is not arguable that any part of the sentence imposed was inappropriate and for this reason the renewed application for leave to appeal is dismissed.'

After the trial, it emerged Stretch had sent Dennehy twisted letters from his cell, calling her his 'devil in the flesh' and describing sex with her as 'a dream never to come true.

He also praised her 'bloodthirsty' leanings and 'dirty and dark mind', as they both awaited sentence for their heinous crimes.

Stretch even signed off the letters with 'Your biggest supporter!' 'Undertaker' and 'Hubby 4 Lifey'.

The Killing Spree: Hunting Joanna Dennehy airs on Channel 5at 10pm tonight

What happened to Joanna Dennehy's accomplice Gary Starch? (2024)
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