A “warped and angry” killer has been found guilty of murdering his girlfriend and an associate within weeks of being released from jail.
Lee Peacock cut the throats of 46-year-old Sharon Pickles and 59-year-old Clinton Ashmore in Westminster, central London, in August 2021.
Peacock, a self-confessed burglar and thief, had only been released from prison on 4 June 2021.
Clinton Ashmore and Sharon Pickles
Peacock, 50, turned the 4cm-long knife on himself after a five-day manhunt led police to a houseboat, where he was hiding out.
He appeared at the Old Bailey on Tuesday, where the jury took two hours and 20 minutes to find him guilty of double murder.
He is due to be sentenced on Wednesday 1 February.
He admitted killing the pair, but had denied it was murder, claiming Ms Pickles’ death was a “pure accident” and that Mr Ashmore had punched him in the head after he confessed to killing her.
During the trial, prosecutor Edward Brown KC described Peacock’s actions as “cold-blooded” and “determined”.
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Kitten in a rucksack and a confession note
Jurors were told Peacock had turned up at his father’s property with Ms Pickles’s kitten in his rucksack on the evening of 19 August 2021. His father alerted the police that Peacock had confessed to being a killer.
Officers went to Ms Pickles’ home in Marylebone and found her body wrapped up and hidden under a bed, with a signed confession nearby.
In the note, Peacock wrote that Ms Pickles was “meant to live” and he had sworn “revenge” against those who took advantage while he was in jail.
Later that day, Peacock was seen on CCTV walking with Mr Ashmore towards his Westminster flat, then leaving alone 15 minutes later.
Mr Ashmore was found dead by friends two hours later. Both victims died from similar knife wounds to the neck.
Lee Peacock
Same knife used in both killings
Peacock and the kitten were eventually located on 25 August and when officers arrived, he tried to cut his own neck before being restrained.
More notes confessing to the murders and explaining the reasons for them were found in his pocket, and the clothes he was wearing were seized.
After being treated in hospital, Peacock gave a “chilling” account, saying he had used the same knife in both killings and the attempt on his own life.
Giving evidence in his trial, Peacock insisted he was “not a monster” and he never intended to harm either of his victims.
