True Crime Friday: Joanne Dennehy

Ninetoes heard about Joanne Dennehy and the Peterborough Ditch Murders and did some digging to learn more.

Hey there, true crime lovers! It is your favorite investigator, Ninetoes, coming to you from Ninetoes HQ, and I am on the beat with The Peterborough Ditch Murders. I have my notebook in hand and coffee in my system, so let’s get to it!

Joanne Dennehy was born in St. Albans, Hertfordshire, in August 1982. She left home at the age of 26 with her partner, John Treanor. The pair had two daughters later on. The relationship deteriorated due to drug use, alcoholism, and violence, prompting Treanor to leave with the children in 2009.

In February 2012, Dennehy was arrested for theft. She was admitted to Peterborough City Hospital for psychiatric treatment. During this time, she was diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. This was the first court-mandated psychiatric evaluation she received for theft.

Between March 19-29, 2013, Dennehy killed three men. Her victims were: Łukasz Słaboszewski (a Polish National), John Chapman (her housemate), and Kevin Lee (her landlord and former partner. Słaboszewski and Chapman were both stabbed to death. Both Lee and Chapman were killed on March 29. All three victims were found in ditches, giving this the news headline “Peterborough Ditch Murders”. Dennehy went to the trouble of dressing Kevin Lee up in a black sequined gown before she dumped his body in a ditch.

At one point, Dennehy went to Herefordshire and attempted to kill two men, both of them dog walkers. These men survived her attack, but she was able to steal one of the victims’ dogs. Both men’s injuries were listed as severe, but not fatal.

Joanne Dennehy was arrested by two Hereford policemen on April 3, 2013. The Hereford police received an intelligence circular about Dennehy, noting the distinctive star tattoo on her face. Two officers saw her sitting in the passenger seat of a green Vauxhall Astra. She was sitting in the car while her friend, Gary Stretch, was trying to sell stolen items. She offered no resistance when she was arrested. She was caught just twenty minutes after her second attack.

Dennehy’s trial began in November 2013, when she pleaded guilty to the three murders and two attempted murders. She was held at HM Prison Bronzefield. Psychiatrists here diagnosed her with psychopathic, antisocial, and borderline personality disorders. Her trial was held at the Old Bailey in London. During the trial, Denehy could be seen laughing. When questioned about her guilty plea, she said, “I have pleaded guilty, and that’s that.” She stood up and told Mr. Justice Spencer “I don’t wanna be controlled by anybody. I don’t want to be controlled by my lawyers, by the police, by anybody.”

While in prison, officials found an escape plan written in her diary. This plan involved either harming or killing a prison guard, amputating a finger to fool the biometric system, and escaping. Because of this, she was placed in solitary confinement from September 2013 (before the trial) until September 2015 (after the trial proceedings). She made claims that she was left tearful and upset, and this led to self-harm.

On February 28, 2014, Joanne Dennehy was sentenced to life imprisonment with an additional order that she never be released. Mr. Justice Spencer called Dennehy a “cruel, calculating, selfish and manipulative serial killer.”

While in HM Prison Bromsgrove, Dennehy asked permission to marry her cellmate, Hayley Palmer. In 2018, both women tried to kill themselves in a suicide pact. In June 2020, Dennehy was reported to be in a relationship with another woman, Emma Aitken, who was serving a 25-year sentence for killing a man and leaving his body outside of a social club. 

In 2019, Dennehy was moved to Low Newton Prison in County Durham. When she got there, she allegedly threatened to kill Rosemary West, who was moved to another prison. The government denied that any of this happened. Joanne Dennehy is still at Low Newton Prison to this day.

Darren “Ninetoes” Perdue is a book and media reviewer. When he is not reading, he is watching true crime shows, cooking for his family, or working on a plan for universal domination. If you see him on his porch, say hi. He does not bite…much.

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