BALD and bespectacled, Hugh Penrose smirked as he stood in the dock while details of his lifetime of crimes were read out.

Defiant to the end, as he was taken down to start a life sentence the 37-year-old drug addict could not resist making gestures to his friends sat in the courtroom opposite his victim's family.

Dressed in a grey, hooded top, Penrose was seemingly oblivious to the shouts of "Rot in prison, you little bastard" from friends and family of his victim, Carie Burns.

The killing of 21-year-old Miss Burns was the culmination of a criminal record spanning 16 years in which violence was a recurring factor.

Penrose had been arrested for carrying dangerous weapons, notably knives, on a number of occasions and displayed a particular aggression towards police officers.

As a 20-year-old, he threatened officers with a fence-post during a stand-off in his native Consett, County Durham.

He was jailed for five years in 1995 for stabbing a police constable in Scarborough and displayed particular savage tendencies when he stabbed his cousin with a bottle in 2001.

Detective Superintendent Neil Malkin, who led the investigation into Miss Burns' murder, said: "Hugh Penrose is an extremely violent person with an extremely violent past.

"He is prepared to use whatever level of violence to meet his own ends.

"Penrose is fixated with knives and uses them to carry out indiscriminate violence.

"The murder of Carie Burns is, without doubt, one of the most violent crimes I have come across."

Newcastle Crown Court heard that Penrose had been addicted to amphetamine sulphate, or speed, for 20 years and was a heavy user.

Psychiatrists' reports suggest he suffers from a personality disorder which borders on being paranoid.

He is said to have snapped after an argument in which he repeatedly called Miss Burns a "daft bitch" before stabbing her. The terrible assault was the culmination of days of bickering, thought to be fuelled by his jealously of her relationship with another man.

As stunned guests looked on helplessly, Penrose stabbed Miss Burns inside his house, battered her about the head with a saucepan then, to make sure, ran her over in his car.

He drove off, stopping to change his number plates, and tried to borrow a friend's car.

When he refused, Penrose went to a shop, wearing jeans soaked in Miss Burns' blood and women's trousers over the top. Calmly, he bought milk, Lucozade and a chocolate bar before trying to hijack a bus.

He was eventually arrested, still carrying the samurai sword he used in the killing, after police officers brought his escape to a halt using a Taser stun gun.

As he was led away, members of Miss Burns' family shouted: "Scum". No one raised a voice in protest.

History of vicious attacks

July 1990,Consett Magistrates' Court

Penrose charged with criminal damage and possessing an offensive weapon on May 4, when he threatened police officers with a fence-post at The Grove.

July 1991, Consett magistrates

Charged with criminal damage and assault on a supermarket manager at Kwik Save, in Consett, in May.

November 12, 1992, Consett magistrates

Criminal damage at Blackhill when he drove a car into his estranged wife's Ford Fiesta on July 7.

November 4, 1995, Hull Crown Court

Jailed for five years for stabbing PC Richard Green who tried to arrest him for breaking into cars in Scarborough earlier that year.

November 1, 1999, Durham Crown Court

Jailed for 12 months for criminal damage, affray and assault on August 26 in which he repeatedly punched a man in the face while screaming: "I am going to kill you."

January 23, 2001, Durham Crown Court

Jailed for three years for grievous bodily harm with intent after stabbing his cousin, Thomas Armstrong, with a broken bottle, screaming: "I am going to kill you". It happened at a party the previous September 8, when he was asked to leave because he had made an unwelcome advance to a female guest. His victim needed 50 stitches and plastic surgery.

August 28, 2003, Consett magistrates

Charged with the assault of three police officers and possession of an offensive weapon at Shotley Bridge on July 26.

January 14, 2004, Consett magistrates

Charged with criminal damage for punching a mirror on December 24, 2003 at Blackhill.

February 9, 2004, Durham Crown Court

Jailed for 18 months following an affray on October 5, 2003, in which had he threatened PC David Wells, saying: "I've got a knife. Do not come any closer or I will stab you."

December 15, 2004, Teesside magistrates

Jailed for four weeks for assaulting a relative.