Gorleston lodger jailed for murdering 83-year-old and burning body

A homeless man has received a life sentence for murdering an 83-year-old woman who let him stay at her home before putting her body on a bonfire.

Allan Scott lodged at Patricia Holland’s home in Gorleston-on-Sea, Norfolk, for about a year, but police were called when he became abusive.

The 42-year-old was ordered to leave, but returned minutes after officers left and “violently attacked” her.

Norwich Crown Court ordered him to serve a minimum jail term of 35 years.

Judge Alice Robinson said Scott repaid Mrs Holland’s “generosity with drunken anger, aggression and violence”.

“She had formed a settled intention to get you to leave and you had no intention of going,” she said.

Officers were called to her home at about 21:20 BST on Saturday, 24 July, after she turned up at a neighbour’s in a “distressed state”.

Scott agreed to leave, and police left at about 22:00, but CCTV showed him returning to the address 17 minutes later where she was “violently attacked”, said prosecutors.

Mrs Holland’s daughter noticed what looked like blood on the door when she visited the following day and a missing person investigation was launched.

Jurors were told a large bonfire was seen in the back garden on the Sunday morning and human remains were later found.

Scott was arrested on suspicion of murder on the Monday.

In passing sentence, Judge Robinson said Scott tore up an eviction notice Mrs Holland gave him and, on the night of 24 July, said the defendant threw a pan of pasta around the kitchen.

She said the bonfire was going by 03:20, fuelled by logs, bits of fence panel and piano keys.

After raking over her remains, the court heard he bought gin and tonic from a local shop using Mrs Holland’s bank card.

Mrs Holland’s daughter Kathryn Holland said in a victim impact statement that following a fall in 2014 her mother became a “highly vulnerable” woman who “no longer had the ability to judge people’s intentions accurately”.

“She couldn’t see that all she was to him was, in his words, her meal ticket,” she said

The daughter added she could see Scott was abusing her mother but she “couldn’t stop it from happening” and had tried to raise a safeguarding case.

“She felt so sorry for him,” she said.

“She thought life hadn’t been fair to him. She thought he was talented and misunderstood and just needed a chance.”

Neighbours told the BBC they would remember Mrs Holland as a very “kind”, “sweet” and “lovely” woman.

Andrew Symeou described her regularly taking food on the bus to give to rough sleepers in Norwich.

“She would do everything for anybody,” said Mr Symeou.

Andy Gough, who lived two doors from her on Lowestoft Road, said she would gift homemade wine to her neighbours at Christmas.

“She was extraordinary,” he said.

Scott’s barrister Karim Khalil KC said his client had “mental health difficulties”.

In a statement, Scott’s family said: “We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the family of Patricia Holland and cannot imagine the pain the last nearly two years have brought them.

“We also wish to express our deep pain and disappointment at the failures in support and intervention from support services Allan and the family attempted to reach out to throughout his life.

“For decades we have attempted to seek help for our son and brother, and have repeatedly found obstructive bureaucracy, disinterest, and have been turned away.”

A jury found Scott guilty of murder by a unanimous verdict after the earlier trial. He had admitted one charge of preventing a lawful burial.

Scott showed no visible reaction as he was led to the cells.