In 2013, Cambridgeshire, England, was shaken by a series of disturbing incidents known as the ‘Peterborough ditch murders.’ This chilling name arose because the bodies of three victims were discovered in ditches on the outskirts of the city.
The victims were Kevin Lee, a 48-year-old property developer and landlord, Lukasz Slaboszewski, a 31-year-old Polish national, and 56-year-old John Chapman.
Authorities eventually identified Joanna Christine Dennehy as the perpetrator behind the gruesome spree, which spanned a 10-day period in March of that year.
Dennehy’s crimes resulted in a whole life sentence, making her one of the few women in the UK to receive such a severe punishment. This placed her alongside notorious figures like Myra Hindley, known for the Moors murders, Rosemary West, infamous for her crimes with her husband, and more recently, Lucy Letby, a nurse convicted of killing seven babies.
Dennehy disclosed to authorities that she would never harm a woman, especially mothers, stating that her intent was solely to target men.
During her trial, it was revealed that she had confided in an accomplice about her motive for killing, which she described as being for ‘entertainment.’
“I want my fun. I need you to get my fun,” she chillingly stated to her accomplice.
Dennehy first encountered her victim, Lee, when she was released from prison. He had rented her a low-cost room in 2012.
Their relationship developed into a sexual one, and she began working for Lee as an ‘enforcer’ to help collect rent from tenants.
Her first victim was Slaboszewski, who believed Dennehy was his girlfriend. She lured him to her residence, stabbed him in the heart, and then disposed of his body in a garbage can.
She later confessed to a psychiatrist that she had killed him to test if she was as emotionless as she believed.
A week later, she fatally stabbed Chapman, 58, with a pocket knife, sending a chilling text to her accomplice: “Oops, I’ve done it again.”
On the same day, she murdered Lee after luring him with the promise of sexual favors. After killing him, she dressed his body in a black sequin dress and placed it in a ditch, deliberately exposing him.
Weeks later, the trial revealed her desire to kill again. She persuaded her accomplice, Gary Stretch, to drive her to another location, where she stabbed two men walking their dogs in a brief but violent spree, even stealing the second victim’s dog.
In November 2023, Dennehy pleaded guilty to three counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder.
Stretch and two other accomplices received sentences of 14 years and three years, respectively.
Mr. Justice Spencer concluded that Dennehy suffered from paraphilia sadomasochism, a condition characterized by deriving sexual pleasure from pain and humiliation.
The judge labeled her as a ‘cruel, calculating, selfish, and manipulative murderer’ before imposing her life sentence.