Spalding teenage killers' 20-year jail terms for murdering mother and daughter '˜not unduly lenient'

The boy and girl - both aged 14 at the time of the murders - had sex, shared a bath and watched vampire-themed films after the murders of dinner lady Elizabeth Edwards, 49, and 13-year-old Katie Edwards.

Now both 15, the couple were handed life sentences in November by Mr

Justice Haddon-Cave, who said the pair had a “toxic” relationship and had acted in a grotesque way after the stabbings in Spalding, Lincolnshire.

Sentencing them at Nottingham Crown Court, the judge said the case had “few parallels in modern criminal history”.

He told the teenagers: “The killings were brutal in the form of executions and both victims, particularly Elizabeth Edwards, must have suffered terribly in the last minutes of their lives.”

The case was referred to the Attorney General under the unduly lenient sentence scheme following the sentencing hearing.

A statement issued by the Attorney General’s office said: “After giving the matter his careful consideration, the Solicitor General has decided not to refer the case to the Court of Appeal.

“He determined that the minimum terms of 20 years to be served by these two young offenders before they will be considered for release are not unduly lenient and would not be increased by the Court of Appeal.”