Heartless mum helped killer son dispose of knife he used to stab girlfriend to death

These are the first pictures of an “controlling and obsessive” boyfriend who murdered his girlfriend and his mother - who tried to help him cover it up.

Ian Bennett launched a brutal attack on mum-of-two Kerry Woolley, stabbing her 54 times at her flat in Westley Heights, off Warwick Road in Olton, Solihull, after falsely accusing her of sleeping with another woman.

Kerry, 38, was found dead at her home in July 2020.

Bennett then roped his mother into a "cowardly" plot to hide his sickening crime. It took a jury less than an hour to convict the pair today.

Bennett, 38, of Moordown Avenue, Solihull, was found guilty of murdering Ms Woolley at Birmingham Crown Court.

Ian Bennett stabbed Kerry Woolley 54 times and roped his mother Lynda Bennett into bid to throw cops off track (WMP)

Lynda Bennett was found guilty of assisting an offender and doing an act intended to pervert the course of justice (WMP)

His 63-year-old mother Lydia Bennett, of the same address, was found guilty of assisting an offender and doing an act intended to pervert the course of justice, Birmingham Live reported.

Judge Melbourne Inman QC will sentence them tomorrow, Wednesday, December 8.

The court heard how a mistake by Lynda Bennett helped police to "unlock" the case against her son.

Dashcam footage in her car showed him getting rid of potential evidence linking him to the killing - including a knife he used to stab the victim, which he threw into a canal.

Speaking after the conviction Det Sgt Rory Juss, said: “Ian Bennett unleashed a vicious and brutal attack on Kerry Woolley, a woman he had only been in a relationship with for a matter of a few short weeks.

Police cordoned off the area around Kerry's apartment off Warwick Road after she was found dead (BPM Media)

“He then chose to blatantly lie about what had happened but quickly became unstuck as the evidence mounted up against him.

“In particular the dashcam from his mother’s car showed how he’d enlisted her help as he disposed of the items that would ultimately tie him to his crime.

“Neither Ian Bennett nor his mother Lynda have once shown any remorse for their part in this terrible crime and it was pleasing to see that the evidence we were able to put before the jury enabled them to see through their lies.

“Our thoughts have always been with Kerry’s family, and we hope that Bennett’s conviction, and also that of his mother, can now bring them some comfort.”