Gary Stretch: Joanna Dennehy's loyal accomplice
Joanna Dennehy is one of the most notorious serial killers in British criminal history. One of only a few women serving a whole life sentence in the UK, Dennehy went on a 10-day killing spree in 2013, taking the lives of three men and injuring two others. But she didn’t do it alone.
Dennehy was aided in her murder spree by two men, one of whom was Gary Stretch (real name Gary Richards before he changed it via deed poll). Crime+Investigation examines the role Gary Stretch played in one of Britain's most disturbing recent killing sprees, and why the court rejected his claim that fear kept him loyal.
Who is Gary Stretch?
Stretch originally came from the market town of Kington in Herefordshire. At the time of Dennehy’s criminal activities, he was living in Riseholme, Orton Goldhay, Peterborough. Stretch was 47 years old at the time of the murders. He is also somewhat unique, as he is thought to be one of the tallest serving prisoners in Britain, standing at 7 ft 3 inches.
Stretch already had a criminal history before he became embroiled in Dennehy’s murders. He was known as a career burglar and had previous convictions related to this, as well as robbery, handling stolen goods, and harassment.
Stretch’s relationship with Dennehy
When Stretch moved to Peterborough, he became acquainted with Joanna Dennehy. Dennehy was able to hold significant influence over both Stretch and her other male accomplice, an individual known as Leslie Layton.
Stretch’s dedication was such that, during the original case, he was described as a 'nodding dog' to Dennehy. An acquaintance also compared Stretch and Dennehy's relationship to that of a puppy and master.
Stretch’s involvement in the murders
While Stretch was not part of the killing, he acted as an accomplice by helping Dennehy dispose of the bodies after she committed the crimes. When Dennehy had murdered her three victims (John Chapman, Kevin Lee, and Lukasz Slaboszewski), Stretch drove Dennehy 140 miles to Hereford. He did so in a Vauxhall Astra registered under the fake company name of Undertaker and Sons.
During the trial, Dennehy described the two of them as similar to Bonnie and Clyde as they drove across the country to find more victims for her. Another man, Mark Lloyd, was also in the car, but he was there unwillingly. He was cleared of any criminal involvement.
When the two got to Hereford, Stretch helped Dennehy choose two random men for her to attack. Those men were 64-year-old Robin Bereza, a former worker for the fire service, and 57-year-old John Rogers. They were badly hurt, but they survived their injuries. Rogers subsequently died around a year and a half later.
The arrest and trial
It was later in the afternoon that day that Stretch was arrested. He was caught by West Mercia police when he and Dennehy were trying to escape to the north. The police had been tracking them from Cambridge, where Dennehy murdered her three victims.
Stretch faced several criminal charges related to helping Dennehy on her crime spree, including two counts of attempted murder. The defence claimed that Stretch was frightened of Dennehy and that he acted out of fear that she would kill him next. The judge denied these claims, arguing that there was no evidence that Stretch feared for himself. It was concluded that Stretch enjoyed being part of Dennehy’s plans.
The verdict
Stretch was found guilty of three charges of preventing lawful and decent burial and the aforementioned attempted murder charges. He was sentenced to a minimum life imprisonment term of 19 years on 28th February 2014. Stretch attempted to appeal for a reduction in his sentence in October 2014, but this was denied.
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