Casepin
Back to cases

Case file

Peterborough ditch murders

SOLVED2013Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026

Documents violence — written to inform, not to shock.

Illustrative

In March 2013, three men were killed in Cambridgeshire, England, and their bodies were left in ditches outside Peterborough; all three died from stab wounds. Kevin Lee, a property developer and landlord who was in a relationship with Joanna Christine Dennehy, was killed on 29 March 2013, and his body was found the next day near Newborough, dressed in a black sequined dress. John Chapman, a housemate of Dennehy, was also killed on 29 March 2013. Łukasz Słaboszewski, a Polish national who had met Dennehy through a shared interest in drink and drugs, was killed at some point between 19 and 29 March 2013. The bodies of Słaboszewski and Chapman were found together near Thorney on 3 April 2013.

Dennehy was born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, in August 1982 and grew up in nearby Harpenden; at the time of the killings she was an absent mother of two young children. According to court accounts, she specifically targeted men, telling Mark Lloyd, who later travelled with her, that she did not wish to kill a woman, particularly a woman with children. Lloyd said Dennehy told him she had wanted to kill nine men in total. After the Cambridgeshire killings, Dennehy's friend Gary Stretch, formerly known as Gary Richards, drove her to Hereford, where she stabbed two men, chosen separately and at random; both survived, and she stole a dog belonging to one of them. Lloyd, who had travelled in the car unwillingly, was later cleared of criminal involvement in the Hereford attacks.

In November 2013, Dennehy pleaded guilty to all three murders and to two further charges of attempted murder over the Hereford stabbings. She was held on remand at HM Prison Bronzefield, where assessing psychiatrists diagnosed her with psychopathic, anti-social and borderline personality disorders. At her trial at the Old Bailey in London, presiding judge Mr Justice Spencer described her as a "cruel, calculating, selfish and manipulative serial killer." On 28 February 2014, he sentenced her to life imprisonment with a whole life order, citing the premeditation of each murder; she became the third woman in the UK to be given a whole life tariff, after Myra Hindley and Rosemary West.

Two men, Gary Stretch and Leslie Layton, stood trial charged with a range of offences relating to assisting Dennehy; both declined to give evidence in their defence. On 10 February 2014, Stretch was found guilty of attempted murder and Layton was found guilty of perverting the course of justice; both were convicted of the remaining charges against them on 12 February. Stretch was sentenced alongside Dennehy at the Old Bailey to life imprisonment, with a recommended minimum term of 19 years, and Layton received a total sentence of 14 years. Robert Moore, who admitted assisting an offender, was sentenced to three years' imprisonment.

After the trial, it emerged that the Probation Service had been supervising Dennehy at the time of the killings, following earlier convictions for assault and for owning a dangerous dog, and that the staff involved were inexperienced. While held on remand before trial, Dennehy was placed in solitary confinement at HM Prison Bronzefield from September 2013 to September 2015, after prison staff discovered an escape plot in her diary. She unsuccessfully challenged the confinement in the High Court, which found that it had been lawful, necessary and proportionate.

Key facts

Victims
John Chapman, Kevin Lee, Łukasz Słaboszewski
Date
2013
Location
Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1982-08

    Joanna Christine Dennehy was born in St Albans, Hertfordshire.

  2. 2013-03

    Łukasz Słaboszewski was killed at some point between 19 and 29 March 2013.

  3. 2013-03-29

    Kevin Lee and John Chapman were killed.

  4. 2013-03-30

    Kevin Lee's body was found near Newborough, dressed in a black sequined dress.

  5. 2013-04-03

    The bodies of Łukasz Słaboszewski and John Chapman were found near Thorney.

  6. 2013-09

    Dennehy was placed in solitary confinement at HM Prison Bronzefield after prison staff discovered an escape plot in her diary.

  7. 2013-11

    Dennehy pleaded guilty to three murders and two further charges of attempted murder.

  8. 2014-02-04

    The jury began deliberating in the trial of Gary Stretch and Leslie Layton.

  9. 2014-02-10

    Stretch was found guilty of attempted murder and Layton was found guilty of perverting the course of justice.

  10. 2014-02-12

    Stretch and Layton were convicted of the remaining charges against them.

  11. 2014-02-28

    Dennehy was sentenced to life imprisonment with a whole life order; Stretch, Layton and Robert Moore were sentenced alongside her.

  12. 2015-09

    Dennehy's solitary confinement, imposed after the escape plot was discovered, ended.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Gary Stretch

    CONVICTED

    Formerly known as Gary Richards. Drove Dennehy to Hereford, where she stabbed two men. Found guilty of attempted murder on 10 February 2014 and convicted of further related charges on 12 February 2014; sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommended minimum term of 19 years.

    citation on file

  • Leslie Layton

    CONVICTED

    Stood trial charged with offences relating to assisting Dennehy. Found guilty of perverting the course of justice on 10 February 2014 and convicted of further related charges on 12 February 2014; sentenced to a total of 14 years' imprisonment.

    citation on file

  • John Chapman

    VICTIM

    Housemate of Dennehy; killed on 29 March 2013. His body was found near Thorney on 3 April 2013.

    citation on file

  • Mark Lloyd

    ACQUITTED

    Travelled with Dennehy and Stretch to Hereford, reportedly unwillingly; later cleared of criminal involvement in the Hereford stabbings.

    citation on file

  • Kevin Lee

    VICTIM

    Property developer and landlord who was in a relationship with Dennehy; killed on 29 March 2013. His body was found near Newborough on 30 March 2013.

    citation on file

  • Joanna Christine Dennehy

    CONVICTED

    Pleaded guilty in November 2013 to three murders and two further charges of attempted murder. Sentenced on 28 February 2014 to life imprisonment with a whole life order.

    citation on file

  • Robert Moore

    CONVICTED

    Admitted assisting an offender; sentenced to three years' imprisonment.

    citation on file

  • Łukasz Słaboszewski

    VICTIM

    Polish national who met Dennehy through a shared interest in drink and drugs; killed between 19 and 29 March 2013. His body was found near Thorney on 3 April 2013.

    citation on file

Places

Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England

52.5695, -0.2405

View on the map

Common questions

What happened to the victim?
Joanna Dennehy pleaded guilty to murdering three men in Cambridgeshire in March 2013 and was sentenced to life imprisonment with a whole life order.
Where did the murders happen?
Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England.
Who was convicted?
Gary Stretch (Formerly known as Gary Richards. Drove Dennehy to Hereford, where she stabbed two men. Found guilty of attempted murder on 10 February 2014 and convicted of further related charges on 12 February 2014; sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommended minimum term of 19 years.), Leslie Layton (Stood trial charged with offences relating to assisting Dennehy. Found guilty of perverting the course of justice on 10 February 2014 and convicted of further related charges on 12 February 2014; sentenced to a total of 14 years' imprisonment.), Joanna Christine Dennehy (Pleaded guilty in November 2013 to three murders and two further charges of attempted murder. Sentenced on 28 February 2014 to life imprisonment with a whole life order.), and Robert Moore (Admitted assisting an offender; sentenced to three years' imprisonment.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved. Last verified July 2026.

Sources

  1. Peterborough ditch murderswikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. Contemporaneous coverage — BBC Newsnews · BBC News · 2026-07-07
  3. Contemporaneous coverage — The Guardiannews · The Guardian · 2026-07-07

Last verified JUL 2026

More cases in England