JACK Crawley's life sentence with a minimum 37-year term is thought to be the longest jail term handed down in Carlisle for decades.

As he passed sentence on the 20-year-old former Cumberland Infirmary security guard, The Honourable Mr Justice Goose set out his findings, including his conclusion that Crawley killed Annan man Paul Taylor "for gain."

That conclusion and Crawley's attempt to murder a second man within months of his release on police bail in December last year helped drive up the minimum jail term.

The defendant's only mitigation was his age - 19 at the time of the murder in October last year and the attempted murder in January - and his decision to tell the police where he hid the body.

The prosecution had suggested that Crawley - seemingly preoccupied with the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer - may have been motivated by a secret hatred for older gay men who had "hook-ups" with younger men. 

But Mr Justice Goose appeared to reject this theory, ruling that Crawley's real motive was his desire to steal his victim's Vauxhall Corsa, which after the killing he cleaned and tried to sell.

“This murder was carried out by you with an intention to kill, as the jury found by their verdict, when you used brutal and exceptionally severe violence," said the judge.

“It was a murder for gain, because you wanted to steal his car, and afterwards, with callous cruelty for the family and friends of the man you murdered, you took the body away and set fire to it before it was hidden.

“For seven months the body remained hidden until you finally told the police, before giving a lying account to the jury about how you had killed Paul Taylor.”

“Not content with that murder, you went on to attempt to murder another man.  I am satisfied that had that man not been brave and strong enough, you would have murdered him too, as you had before.

“You are a highly dangerous young man.

“On October 18 last year, Paul Taylor, a 56-year-old man who lived with his family in Annan, drove to Carlisle after you agreed to meet him for the purposes of consensual sex, in a remote place near Carlisle.

“You knew Mr Taylor because you had met him for similar purposes many times before.

"This time, however, you took a hammer with you, which you used to strike him with heavy blows to the head and face at least ten times. Once you were sure he was dead, you put his body in the boot of his car and drove to another remote place, Finglandrigg Woods.

“There you made a fire and burned the body, before dragging the remains into bushes and trees to hide what you had done.

“It was your evidence in the trial, that your motive for your attack upon Mr Taylor was to steal his car, although you claimed you did not intend to kill him.

“That defence was rejected by the Jury, but I am sure that your motive for attacking Mr Taylor was for gain, to steal his car.

“After killing him, you made efforts thoroughly to clean the car, to remove as much of the blood staining you could, and later you tried to sell it for £2000. Before you could do so, you crashed the car and abandoned it.”

The evidence  police uncovered included "selfie" pictures Crawley took of himself brandishing wads of cash (see below).(Image: Cumbria Police photo)

After being quizzed by the police about Mr Taylor’s disappearance, Crawley fled from Carlisle, travelling on Glasgow, Aberdeen, and then York on January 5, where he arranged to meet his second intended victim.

During their meeting, near a disused airfield, he attacked that man with a hammer.

The judge said: “He fought back and managed to take the hammer away and threaten you. At that point you ran away, later committing a dwelling house burglary offence, when you stole clothing.”

The jury correctly found that Crawley planned to kill the man, said the judge.

The Judge continued: “The murder of Paul Taylor involved culpability at a particularly high level. I am sure, having heard the evidence during the trial, that this was a murder for gain.

“Not only was that your evidence, but after the murder you didn’t simply try and destroy the evidence it contained, but you cleaned the car thoroughly and then advertised its sale for £2000. You made concerted efforts to make money from stealing the car.”

The Judge added: “Your offending has caused unimaginable grief to the family and friends of Paul Taylor, who have listened during this trial in dignified silence to the cruel manner in which you firstly murdered Mr Taylor and then destroyed and concealed his body.

"It has been shocking for them to listen to what you did to Mr Taylor.”

The York victim – who would have died had he not bravely fought off Crawley - had been left suffering flashbacks and anxiety over his personal safety.

The Judge then outlined the findings from an assessment of Crawley carried out by consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Rajesh Nadkarni, who concluded that when he killed Mr Taylor the defendant was not suffering mental illness.

“To the extent that you have some aspects of PTSD due to events preceding these offences, and as a consequence of your offending, they do not require hospital treatment,” said the judge.

“In your childhood you witnessed your parents’ divorce when you were 12 and some violence in the home by your father against you. You told Dr Nadkarni that you were often bullied in school and by the age of 14 or 15  and you became involved in gang related crime and drug dealing.”

Even if Crawley’s claim to have been controlled by a London drugs gang was true, said the judge, that would not mitigate his crimes.

“You were not being asked to use violence, still less to murder one man and attempt to murder another,” said Mr Justice Goose. Crawley will not be eligible to apply for parole until 2061, when he is 57.

No murderer sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court in the last 30 years has received a sentence as long as 37 years.