WHEN it comes to serial killers, Joanna Dennehy is about as evil as they get.
Dubbed Britain’s ''most dangerous female prisoner'' the twisted murderer's sick crimes are being examined in Channel 5 documentary, The Killing Spree.
Who is Joanna Dennehy?
Joanna Dennehy is from St Albans, Hertfordshire.
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She came from a stable, loving home in a rural area, where her mum Kathy worked as a shop assistant and dad Kevin worked in security - however, Dennehy left home at the age of 16 and never returned.
In 2013, she was arrested after a ten-day killing spree, which left three men dead and two more fighting for their lives.
Psychiatrists later diagnosed her with "psychopathic, anti-social and emotional instability disorders".
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Who were Joanna Dennehy's victims?
Dennehy murdered three men, and also attacked two more.
Her first victim was her housemate and Polish national Lukasz Slaboszewski, 31, who she murdered at some point between March 19 and 29, 2013.
On March 29, 2023, 56-year-old Falklands veteran John Chapman was knifed to death by Dennehy.
Later that day she murdered her landlord and lover Kevin Lee, 48.
She later went on to stab two more men, who were randomly selected, and left them fighting for their lives.
Branded ''pure evil'' by criminology experts, Dennehy said she committed the murders because it was “moreish and fun”.
She specifically targeted men during her killing spree, and said she did not want to kill a woman, especially not a woman with children.
Why was Joanna Dennehy known as the Peterborough ditch murderer?
Evil Dennehy was known as the Peterborough ditch murderer because of the callous way she disposed of her victims bodies.
All three victims bodies were discovered dumped in ditches outside Peterborough.
The body of Kevin Lee was discovered in Newborough area, after it was dumped by Dennehy and accomplice Gary Stretch.
A few days later, the other two bodies were found by a farmer in a ditch at Thorney Dyke.
Where is Joanna Dennehy now?
In 2014, Dennehy was sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommendation that she never be freed.
According to reports, she remains behind bars at HMP Low Newton, near Durham - a maximum security prison for Britain's female killers that once imprisoned Rose West.
In 2017, Dennehy's mother opened up about her daughter's crimes.
Speaking about Joanna in a documentary which aired on the Crime + Investigation channel Kathleen said: ''The girl that killed those people is not my daughter. My daughter’s that nice 16-year-old that never came home.''
To me she doesn’t exist any more. I don’t ever want her to come out of jail. The world’s safer without Joanna in it.
Joanna Dennehy's mother Kathleen
Kathleen went on to explain that Joanna, who maintained good school grades and loved netball and hockey, was a sensitive and caring child growing up.
She said: ''She was very sensitive. If she stood on a worm or something she would be really upset if it died – she used to take them to bed with her. So she was a loving girl.
''She was polite to everybody. Teachers always said that she was a nice girl.''
Speaking of the chilling moment she learned of her daughter's crimes, Kathleen said: ''When I saw this footage of Jo it was like somebody I didn’t know. She’s standing there being charged, smiling and laughing, that’s not the kind, loving Jo that was our baby.''
She added: ''To me she doesn’t exist any more. I don’t ever want her to come out of jail. The world’s safer without Joanna in it."
How to watch The Killing Spree: Hunting Joanna Dennehy
A number of documentaries have been broadcast in the past about Dennehy and her crimes.
Now Channel 5 will examine what happened in their doc The Killing Spree: Hunting Joanna Dennehy
You can watch it on June 18, 2024 at 10pm on Channel 5 and My5.
The programme will look at Dennehy's horrific crimes and will hear from people who were close to the case.