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Anxiang Du jailed for Ding family murders in Northampton | Anxiang Du jailed for Ding family murders in Northampton |
(35 minutes later) | |
A man who murdered a family of four in a revenge attack has been jailed for life with a minimum of 40 years. | A man who murdered a family of four in a revenge attack has been jailed for life with a minimum of 40 years. |
Anxiang Du stabbed Jifeng "Jeff" Ding, his wife Ge "Helen" Chui, and their daughters Xing and Alice to death at their Northampton home in April 2011. | Anxiang Du stabbed Jifeng "Jeff" Ding, his wife Ge "Helen" Chui, and their daughters Xing and Alice to death at their Northampton home in April 2011. |
He had lost a legal case against the couple and faced a bill of £88,000, Northampton Crown Court heard. | |
Sentencing Du, Mr Justice Flaux said: "This is not a case in which a whole life order is appropriate." | |
Du stabbed the family with "ruthless efficiency" after travelling to their home by train and bus on 29 April 2011 - the day of the royal wedding between the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. | |
He demanded money from Manchester Metropolitan University lecturer Mr Ding and, when he refused, he stabbed him 23 times and his wife 13 times. | |
He then went upstairs to a bedroom and killed their daughters Xing, 18, who was also known as Nancy, and 12-year-old Alice. | |
'Poor defenceless girls' | |
A-level student Xing, who had secured a place to study medicine at university, had 11 stab wounds. Her sister had four. | |
A 999 call made from a mobile phone during the murders featured the sisters' terrified screams and was played to the jury during the trial. | |
Mr Justice Flaux said: "Not content with the slaughter of the parents downstairs, you then went upstairs to the back bedroom where the two young Ding girls were cowering. | |
"It is apparent from the fact that Nancy's mobile made the 999 call, that they had heard what was happening downstairs and she was frantically trying to ring the police for help. | |
"At that moment it seems you came into the room and within a short period of time you had also murdered those poor defenceless girls." | |
Du then laid down and slept in the house, then later woke up and stole the family's car and fled the country. | |
The family's bodies were not discovered for two days. | |
Du was eventually arrested 14 months later in Morocco. | |
He admitted the killings but claimed he should be convicted of manslaughter on the basis of either diminished responsibility or loss of control. | He admitted the killings but claimed he should be convicted of manslaughter on the basis of either diminished responsibility or loss of control. |