Edwards murders: ‘Lenient’ sentences for 15-year-olds referred to Attorney General

The 20-year minimum terms handed to the teenagers responsible for the murders of Liz and Katie Edwards have been referred to the Attorney General for being “unduly lenient”.

There is now a 28-day period for a decision on whether the sentences should be referred on to the Court of Appeal.

A spokesman for the Attorney General’s office said: “The threshold to refer cases to the Court of Appeal is very high.
“A sentence can only be regarded as unduly lenient if there has been a gross error and it is significantly below the level that any judge could have reasonably imposed after considering the facts of the case.”

The 15-year-old boy and girl were sentenced to life for the April 2016 murders of the mum and daughter in Dawson Avenue, Spalding, and told they must serve a minimum of 20 years. Mr Justice Haddon-Cave is due to rule this week whether the identities of the killers can be made public.