A judge told a killer mum she had a "lack of maturity" as she was jailed.

Hannah Sindrey, 23, of Worcester Drive, Rayleigh, was sentenced at Basildon Court on Friday, following a two-month trial.

She had been found guilty of murdering Paul Fletcher, 31, who was stabbed at a flat in Worcester Drive in the early hours of January 1 last year.

Judge Leigh said she had taken Sindrey’s “lack of maturity” and relatively young age into account with her sentence.

She has been jailed for life and must serve a minimum of 14 years and six months.

The judge said: “There was abuse from him to you and, as you accept, you were verbally abusive to him.

“It is clear that the deceased was preoccupied with the thought you were cheating on him, which you were not.

“His Class A drug use, along with his ADHD, was fuelling his paranoia, of that I am sure.”

year.

The court heard how the pair had been in a ‘toxic’ relationship, with Fletcher only released from prison in the October before he died having spent a decade behind bars for violent offences.

A victim impact statement from Mr Fletcher’s 15-year-old son was read in court.

It said: “I knew about his past and the man I knew was nothing like the way they talk about him.

“He would take us out for lunch and we had made lots of plans. He told me he would not go back to prison and knew it was true.

“He was my hero and my heart breaks everyday. He was snatched away from me and was my best friend.”

Mitigating, David Spens referred to Sindrey’s friend and co-defendant who was acquitted of murdering Mr Fletcher.

He said: “If he had not taken a phone of Kelly Blackwell, who was acquitted, you may say it may not have happened.

“She showed a lack of self-control and suffers mental health conditions which contributed. Maybe abuse suffered as a child causes post traumatic stress disorder which contributed. The court should reduce the sentence significantly.”