Louisa Brannan: Murdered by killer teen Reece Ludlow
Laura Whitmore on Britain's Killer TeensMurder of any kind is an unforgivable act, but there is something all the more haunting about teenagers who choose to kill. Laura Whitmore is diving deeper into the reasons why some teens commit murder in Crime+Investigation’s new series Britain’s Killer Teens.
Reece Ludlow was a teenager when he took the life of Louisa Brannan. He is currently serving a life sentence in prison for the murder. In this article, we take a closer look at the circumstances of this shocking case..
Who is Reece Ludlow?
In 2011, Reece Ludlow was an 18-year-old man who had already dabbled in crime. He had previous robbery convictions, but nothing more than petty crimes. It didn’t take long before Ludlow proved just how dangerous he really was.
Who was Louisa Brannan?
Louisa Brannan was a vulnerable 35-year-old woman originally hailing from Huddersfield in West Yorkshire. She had struggled with addiction and had run ins with the police in the past, but was at a point where she was trying to turn her life around.
Brannan clearly had an unstable and tumultuous life fuelled by her addictions, but she was also highly vulnerable. Reece Ludlow took advantage of this, robbing her of the opportunity to turn her life around in the process.
The murder of Louisa Brannan
Louisa met Ludlow in a pub in Mitcham. Their first meeting was only a few days before her death. On 13th March 2011, Louisa and Ludlow met up again, but this time, Louisa went home with Ludlow to his flat in Sutton, South London.
The two had sexual intercourse in the flat, but at some point in the night, things took a horrific turn.
It isn’t entirely clear if an argument happened between the two to cause Ludlow to fly into a rage. Something within the teen seemed to have snapped though, as he spent the next five or so hours torturing Louisa. Ludlow stabbed Louisa around 25 times using two separate knives. She had stab wounds on her neck, face and back. He also hit her in the head with a frying pan.
At around 2am the following morning, Ludlow made several phone calls. He first called his ex-girlfriend with whom he had only broken up with a few months beforehand. She had dumped Ludlow due to his aggressive nature, but Ludlow was unable to get over their breakup. When he called her, she was horrified to hear the pained cries of Louisa, who was not yet dead. Louisa was heard to say, 'I’m dying' on the other side of the phone.
After Louisa’s death, Ludlow called his ex-girlfriend again, attempting to get her to help him. He is reported to have said, 'Come and help me, you will make it better, just come and see me, I only want to be with you, that’s all I want.'
A few hours later at 5am, Ludlow called his mum, who then contacted the police. Ludlow was nowhere to be found, and a manhunt was immediately launched. After five days, Ludlow was found and arrested at Victoria Station.
The trial of Reece Ludlow
Ludlow initially denied the charges of murder, instead pleading manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. When support from doctors was withdrawn for this claim, Ludlow admitted to murder. Judge Nicholas Hilliard QC sentenced Ludlow at Woolwich Crown Court. He was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 17 years.
At the sentencing, the judge made the following remarks:
'Your victim was naked, defenceless and in unfamiliar surroundings when you subjected her to a sustained and brutal attack. She did not, as you know, die straight away. Instead over several hours, about five, she was at your mercy in that flat, naked and dying. She must have been terrified and you showed her no mercy.'
The disturbing and sad nature of this crime was made all the more tragic by the victim statements from Louisa’s family. They noted that she was fragile and vulnerable, and was always trying to become a better person. Ludlow took away the chance for her to change for the better, instead subjecting her to a prolonged and painful death.
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