Lawrence Bierton

Lawrence Bierton (born 30 December 1959) is an English convicted serial killer. In 1996, he was convicted of the double murder of two elderly sisters in Rotherham. In 2023 he was convicted of a third murder he committed while released on licence.

First crime On 25 June 1995, 79-year-old Aileen Dudill and her 72-year-old sister Elsie Gregory discovered their gardeners, Lawrence Bierton and Michael Pluck, stealing from them. Bierton and Pluck reacted by bludgeoning and suffocating the sisters to death. Bierton and Pluck then piled the sisters' living room furniture over the bodies and set it all on fire.

Bierton and Pluck were both jailed for life at Sheffield Crown Court in 1996.

Release and reimprisonment Michael Pluck died in HMP Rye Hill on 13 February 2012

Bierton was released from prison on licence in 2017. He was recalled to prison in 2018 but was released on licence again in 2020.

On 9 November 2021, in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, Bierton battered his 73-year-old neighbour Pauline Quinn to death with her own coffee table. The cause of death was traumatic head injuries. His abuse of drug and alcohol was considered by the prosecution to be a contributing factor.

In January 2023, the Probation Service released their review of the case. Brendan Clarke-Smith, the local MP for Bassetlaw, called for a public inquiry. On 20 December 2023, Bierton received a whole life sentence. The Probation Service apologised to the families for its failings.