Mark Hobson
Encyclopedia
Mark Richard "Hobo" Hobson is a British spree killer
who killed four people in North Yorkshire
, England
in July 2004. He was arrested after an eight-day nationwide manhunt involving more than 500 police officers and 12 police forces, during which time he was Britain's "most wanted man". Police discovered notes written by Hobson that showed the murders were pre-meditated and well-planned, including a 'to-do' note detailing how he planned to lure his girlfriend's twin sister to his flat and a shopping list for "big bin liners," tape, tie-wraps, fly spray and air freshener. Against his girlfriend's sister's name he had written "use and abuse at will." The list of planned victims also included his girlfriend's parents and the parents of his ex-wife. Hobson was tried for the murders in April 2005. Pleading guilty, he was sentenced to four terms of life imprisonment
with a recommendation that he should never be released
. This was one of the first times that such a recommendation had been made for someone who had admitted their crime at the first opportunity. He is currently incarcerated at Wakefield Prison, West Yorkshire.
area where Peter Hobson took work at a local coalfield. Hobson's mother worked as a machinist. Hobson's childhood was described by his contemporaries as "happy and stable." He attended Heath View Primary School in Eastmoor, Wakefield, and Staynor High School on Abbots Road, Selby. One of Hobson's teachers recalled him as "very well behaved... so average and ordinary that he was almost anonymous."
and drinking heavily. His wife said: "There was no one else involved, he just didn't want married life any more. It was bizarre. I couldn't believe it. He turned to pot and drinking heavily. He never drank when we were married but now he got out of his face. He became like a zombie... His life just went completely off the rails."
. Claire was last seen alive on July 10 when she and Hobson went to a pub near the flat they shared in Camblesforth, Selby. She was struck on the head seventeen times with a hammer and strangled after which Hobson wrapped her body in binbags. A plastic bag had also been placed over her head. Subsequent forensic analysis determined that an area of the flat had been cleaned with bleach but Claire had been first attacked in the living room and then taken into the bathroom. There was no evidence of recent sexual activity.
and wanted her to visit. When Diane arrived at the flat that evening she too was beaten with a hammer after being tortured with a disposable razor and scissors and sexually assaulted. She had been "hogtied
" and her left nipple was completely bitten off. Police believe Hobson may have eaten it. The cause of her death was determined to be strangulation. Her head was also covered with a plastic bag and ligatures were found on her wrists, ankles and neck. Her pubic hair had been shaved and she had been sexually assaulted.
The twins' mutilated bodies were discovered by Diane's boyfriend on 18 July 2004.
, a few miles north of York
.
, following a nationwide manhunt. At his subsequent trial in April 2005, Hobson admitted all four murders. He was sentenced to life imprisonment
on 27 May 2005.
The court was also told that Hobson had stabbed a love rival five times in the chest in a daylight attack in front of shoppers in Selby
in 2002, leaving him with a punctured lung. Hobson had admitted grievous bodily harm and avoided a prison sentence, instead receiving a community punishment. This lenient sentence came under much criticism in the light of Hobson's later offending.
The appeal was turned down by the Appeal Court after Lord Phillips agreed with the trial judge's recommendation, saying that his opinion that Hobson should never be released was inevitable, regardless of a guilty plea, as the murders had been so horrific.
at a Cambridgeshire
school), and scalding him with a bucket of boiling water. A prison service spokesman said that, due to the nature of high-security prisoners, "it's impossible to prevent incidents of this nature occasionally happening."
In January 2006, letters were released from Wakefield Prison where Hobson blamed alcohol for his killing spree. It had been revealed at Hobson's trial that he was an alcoholic
who regularly drank as many as 20 pints a day. He was addicted to heroin and also used other drugs.
In February 2007, some 15 months after Hobson's failed appeal, the European Court of Justice
began a review of lifelong imprisonment to determine whether such sentences amounted to a violation of human rights. If the court outlaws lifelong imprisonment, Hobson and all other prisoners serving such sentences would have their cases called back to court for a new minimum term to be set.
Spree killer
A spree killer is someone who embarks on a murderous assault on two or more victims in a short time in multiple locations. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics defines a spree killing as "killings at two or more locations with almost no time break between murders."-Definition:According to the...
who killed four people in North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in July 2004. He was arrested after an eight-day nationwide manhunt involving more than 500 police officers and 12 police forces, during which time he was Britain's "most wanted man". Police discovered notes written by Hobson that showed the murders were pre-meditated and well-planned, including a 'to-do' note detailing how he planned to lure his girlfriend's twin sister to his flat and a shopping list for "big bin liners," tape, tie-wraps, fly spray and air freshener. Against his girlfriend's sister's name he had written "use and abuse at will." The list of planned victims also included his girlfriend's parents and the parents of his ex-wife. Hobson was tried for the murders in April 2005. Pleading guilty, he was sentenced to four terms of life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
with a recommendation that he should never be released
Whole life tariff
This is a list of prisoners who have received a whole life tariff through some mechanism in jurisdictions of the United Kingdom.Eight of these prisoners have since died in prison, while three of them have had their sentences reduced on appeal, meaning that there are currently at least 48 prisoners...
. This was one of the first times that such a recommendation had been made for someone who had admitted their crime at the first opportunity. He is currently incarcerated at Wakefield Prison, West Yorkshire.
Early life
Hobson was born at Manygates Maternity Hospital on Blenheim Road, Wakefield on 2 September 1969. The first family home was located at Norton Street, Wakefield, where Hobson grew up with his parents Peter and Sandra and his two sisters, Melanie and Leslie. They then moved to Woodhouse Road, Eastmoor. His father was a coal miner who had started his career at Walton colliery in 1958 and later become deputy and over-manager at the city's Park Hill colliery until its closure in 1982. The family then moved to the SelbySelby
Selby is a town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Situated south of the city of York, along the course of the River Ouse, Selby is the largest and, with a population of 13,012, most populous settlement of the wider Selby local government district.Historically a part of the West Riding...
area where Peter Hobson took work at a local coalfield. Hobson's mother worked as a machinist. Hobson's childhood was described by his contemporaries as "happy and stable." He attended Heath View Primary School in Eastmoor, Wakefield, and Staynor High School on Abbots Road, Selby. One of Hobson's teachers recalled him as "very well behaved... so average and ordinary that he was almost anonymous."
Later life
In 1991 Hobson moved in with his childhood sweetheart and her two children from another relationship. They married in 1993, after the birth of their daughter. Hobson worked at Drax power station and as a landscape gardener. His wife described him as the "perfect husband." In 1998 Hobson registered as a nightclub doorman and began working at "Kans" nightclub in Market Place, Selby. On New Year's Day 1999 he walked out on his family without giving a reason and began using cannabisCannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
and drinking heavily. His wife said: "There was no one else involved, he just didn't want married life any more. It was bizarre. I couldn't believe it. He turned to pot and drinking heavily. He never drank when we were married but now he got out of his face. He became like a zombie... His life just went completely off the rails."
Claire Sanderson
During the evening of 10 July 2004 he killed his girlfriend Claire Sanderson, 27, in the flat they shared at number thirty-six Millfield Drive, CamblesforthCamblesforth
Camblesforth is a village and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 1,526...
. Claire was last seen alive on July 10 when she and Hobson went to a pub near the flat they shared in Camblesforth, Selby. She was struck on the head seventeen times with a hammer and strangled after which Hobson wrapped her body in binbags. A plastic bag had also been placed over her head. Subsequent forensic analysis determined that an area of the flat had been cleaned with bleach but Claire had been first attacked in the living room and then taken into the bathroom. There was no evidence of recent sexual activity.
Diane Sanderson
On 17 July he telephoned Sanderson's twin sister Diane and told her Claire was ill with glandular feverInfectious mononucleosis
Infectious mononucleosis is an infectious, widespread viral...
and wanted her to visit. When Diane arrived at the flat that evening she too was beaten with a hammer after being tortured with a disposable razor and scissors and sexually assaulted. She had been "hogtied
Hogtie bondage
The hogtie is a bondage position in which a submissive's wrists and ankles are fastened together behind their back using some form of physical restraints, such as rope or cuffs....
" and her left nipple was completely bitten off. Police believe Hobson may have eaten it. The cause of her death was determined to be strangulation. Her head was also covered with a plastic bag and ligatures were found on her wrists, ankles and neck. Her pubic hair had been shaved and she had been sexually assaulted.
The twins' mutilated bodies were discovered by Diane's boyfriend on 18 July 2004.
James and Joan Britton
He subsequently murdered an elderly couple, James and Joan Britton, at their home in the village of StrensallStrensall
Strensall is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of the City of York in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Foss north of York and north-east of Haxby. Prior to 1996 it had been part of the Ryedale district. It covers an area of 2,908 acres....
, a few miles north of York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
.
Arrest and trial
Hobson was arrested at a petrol station on 25 July 2004, in the village of Shipton-by-Beningbrough, near YorkYork
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, following a nationwide manhunt. At his subsequent trial in April 2005, Hobson admitted all four murders. He was sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
on 27 May 2005.
The court was also told that Hobson had stabbed a love rival five times in the chest in a daylight attack in front of shoppers in Selby
Selby
Selby is a town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Situated south of the city of York, along the course of the River Ouse, Selby is the largest and, with a population of 13,012, most populous settlement of the wider Selby local government district.Historically a part of the West Riding...
in 2002, leaving him with a punctured lung. Hobson had admitted grievous bodily harm and avoided a prison sentence, instead receiving a community punishment. This lenient sentence came under much criticism in the light of Hobson's later offending.
Appeal
Hobson lodged an appeal to a lower minimum sentence set, claiming that he should have been given a more lenient sentence because he had admitted all four murders at the earliest opportunity. He also backed up his case with the suggestion that no other murderer who admitted their crimes at the first opportunity had ever been recommended for lifelong imprisonment. This was not true, as a similar recommendation had been imposed on child killers Timothy Morss and Brett Tyler in 1996 even though they had admitted their crimes at the earliest opportunity.The appeal was turned down by the Appeal Court after Lord Phillips agreed with the trial judge's recommendation, saying that his opinion that Hobson should never be released was inevitable, regardless of a guilty plea, as the murders had been so horrific.
Imprisonment
Shortly before this court case, Hobson was placed into solitary confinement for three months after attacking Ian Huntley (a former school caretaker convicted of murdering two female pupilsSoham murders
The Soham murders was an English murder case in 2002 of two 10-year-old girls in the village of Soham, Cambridgeshire.The victims were Holly Marie Wells and Jessica Aimee Chapman...
at a Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
school), and scalding him with a bucket of boiling water. A prison service spokesman said that, due to the nature of high-security prisoners, "it's impossible to prevent incidents of this nature occasionally happening."
In January 2006, letters were released from Wakefield Prison where Hobson blamed alcohol for his killing spree. It had been revealed at Hobson's trial that he was an alcoholic
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
who regularly drank as many as 20 pints a day. He was addicted to heroin and also used other drugs.
In February 2007, some 15 months after Hobson's failed appeal, the European Court of Justice
European Court of Justice
The Court can sit in plenary session, as a Grand Chamber of 13 judges, or in chambers of three or five judges. Plenary sitting are now very rare, and the court mostly sits in chambers of three or five judges...
began a review of lifelong imprisonment to determine whether such sentences amounted to a violation of human rights. If the court outlaws lifelong imprisonment, Hobson and all other prisoners serving such sentences would have their cases called back to court for a new minimum term to be set.