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| Patrick Curran jailed for life for murdering Joan Roddam | Patrick Curran jailed for life for murdering Joan Roddam |
| (25 minutes later) | |
| A man with a fetish for older women has been jailed for life for the murder of a pensioner in her Cornwall home. | |
| Patrick Curran was 27 when he strangled 74-year-old widow Joan Roddam at her home in Delabole, in November 2003. | Patrick Curran was 27 when he strangled 74-year-old widow Joan Roddam at her home in Delabole, in November 2003. |
| The judge at Truro Crown Court said she had been "almost certainly" resisting his sexual advances. | The judge at Truro Crown Court said she had been "almost certainly" resisting his sexual advances. |
| Curran, 38, was arrested at the time but was not charged until 2014 as a result of new forensic evidence. He will serve a minimum of 18 years. | Curran, 38, was arrested at the time but was not charged until 2014 as a result of new forensic evidence. He will serve a minimum of 18 years. |
| Judge Graham Cottle said Curran - who was found guilty of murder last week - went to the house because of his sexual interest in older women, but Mrs Roddam probably rejected him. | Judge Graham Cottle said Curran - who was found guilty of murder last week - went to the house because of his sexual interest in older women, but Mrs Roddam probably rejected him. |
| "Whether that angered you sufficiently to strangle her or you killed her to silence her I do not know," he said. | "Whether that angered you sufficiently to strangle her or you killed her to silence her I do not know," he said. |
| Curran, of West Down Road, Delabole, wrapped the body in a blanket and tried to hide it under a wheelbarrow in a field. | Curran, of West Down Road, Delabole, wrapped the body in a blanket and tried to hide it under a wheelbarrow in a field. |
| The attacker, described in court as a "loner", visited pornographic websites on his computer featuring women in their 70s and older. | The attacker, described in court as a "loner", visited pornographic websites on his computer featuring women in their 70s and older. |
| Several days before the murder - which was carried out less than a mile from his home - he had visited a doctor complaining of a "very high libido". | Several days before the murder - which was carried out less than a mile from his home - he had visited a doctor complaining of a "very high libido". |
| Officers also discovered he had burned clothes, as well as a computer hard disk drive, in his parents' garden. | Officers also discovered he had burned clothes, as well as a computer hard disk drive, in his parents' garden. |
| However, at the time they did not believe they had enough forensic evidence to place him at the scene. | However, at the time they did not believe they had enough forensic evidence to place him at the scene. |
| Ten years later, police began a cold case review and officers were eventually able to match fibres found in Mrs Roddam's house to his clothes. | Ten years later, police began a cold case review and officers were eventually able to match fibres found in Mrs Roddam's house to his clothes. |
| DNA found on the blanket Curran used to wrap around Mrs Roddam's body linked him to the scene. | DNA found on the blanket Curran used to wrap around Mrs Roddam's body linked him to the scene. |
| Forensics experts described the chances of the DNA not being Curran's were "a billion to one", the trial heard. | Forensics experts described the chances of the DNA not being Curran's were "a billion to one", the trial heard. |