Britain's youngest double-murderers jailed for 20 years

Teenage lovers who are believed to be Britain's youngest double-murderers have each been jailed for at least 20 years after killing a mother and daughter.

Elizabeth Edwards and 13-year-old Katie were murdered

The boy and girl – both 14 at the time of the murders – planned the killings of 49-year-old Elizabeth Edwards, believed to be originally from Edinburgh, and 13-year-old Katie who were stabbed through the throat and smothered as they slept.

The teenagers, now 15, went on to share a bath, have sex, and watch four Twilight vampire films after the murders in Spalding, Lincolnshire, last April, Nottingham Crown Court heard.

Sentencing the pair, who cannot be named for legal reasons, to life with 20-year minimum terms, Mr Justice Haddon-Cave said: “This case is, in many respects, without parallel.”

The judge said the case had “defining and particularly chilling” features, including the young age of the defendants and that the offence was carefully planned.

As both teenagers remained composed in the dock, flanked by security guards, the judge condemned their conduct after the killings as “grotesque”. He told the teenagers: “There was remarkable premeditation and planning – it was, on any view, substantial, meticulous and repeated.

“The killings were brutal in the form of executions and both victims, particularly Elizabeth Edwards, must have suffered terribly in the last minutes of their lives.”

Both the boy and the girl pleaded guilty to manslaughter but not guilty to murder at a hearing in September, with the male defendant admitting murder before the trial began.

His girlfriend maintained her innocence to murder but was found guilty after a trial.