Man jailed for stabbing pregnant woman to death

A man who claimed voices told him to kill a pregnant 21-year-old as she walked to work has been jailed for life.

Alan McMullan, 54, fatally stabbed Claire Wilson in the street as she walked to her job as a Pizza Hut waitress in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, on June 7 last year.

McMullan denied murdering Miss Wilson, who was six months pregnant, on the grounds of diminished responsibility but a jury at Hull Crown Court took just 90 minutes to convict him on Wednesday.

Judge Michael Mettyear said it was possible McMullan would never be released from jail and he stressed it would be a matter for the Parole Board to consider. However he did say McMullan must serve a minimum of 20 years in prison.

In court the killings were described as "senseless and unnecessary."

The judge said he had read of the "terrible struggle" the family had to endure following the murder. He said it was another example of a knife attack which rightly causes worry and concern in the community.