02/02/2006

Twins sentenced to nine years for killing

Twin brothers who killed their step-grandmother and stole her life savings have been sentenced to nine years.

Robert and Jonathan Maskell, both 19, and their sister's boyfriend, nineteen-year-old Dwane Johnston, were convicted last month of the manslaughter of 74-year-old Anjelica Hallwood at her home in Edmonton, north London in January 2005.

All three defendants, who are all from the Edmonton area, were sentenced to nine years for the manslaughter and seven years for robbery. The sentences, to be served in a young offenders institution, will run concurrently. Their license periods have also been extended to three years.

During the trial, the court heard how the twins, who were not blood relatives of Mrs Hallwood, left their 18th birthday party, along with Johnston, to steal the pensioner's life savings.

The court was told how Johnston hit Mrs Hallwood, who was only 4ft 10in tall in the face and pressed down on her throat, before the trio left the house, after finding £1,000.

At sentencing, Judge Gerald Gordon said: "It is difficult to imagine a more despicable crime."

(KMcA)

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