Convicted fraudster told he will never be paroled for killing Robert and Patricia Seddon to collect his £230,000 inheritance
A conman has been jailed for a minimum 40 years and told he will never be paroled after the cold-blooded murder of his parents to collect his £230,000 inheritance.
Convicted fraudster Stephen Seddon, 46, had once before tried to murder his father Robert, 68, and mother Patricia, 65, by driving into a canal with them strapped in the back seats in a faked road accident.
Seddon then "played the hero" in the aftermath of the incident, boasting of his supposed rescue attempts after aborting the murder plan when bystanders went to their aid in the submerged car.
But after that plan failed, four months later he killed the couple with a sawn-off shotgun at their suburban home in Sale, Greater Manchester.
His parents had made him sole beneficiary of their £230,000 estate in their will.
On Thursday, Seddon was given a mandatory life sentence for two counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder after being convicted by a jury at Manchester crown court.
But Mr Justice Hamblen told the defendant that, in his case, life should mean life and he ordered Seddon to serve a whole-life term – so he will never be released.
At one point Seddon shouted from the dock: "No, not at all, they were not murdered by me at all. I'm an innocent man."
But the judge told him to "Keep quiet!" and continued his sentencing remarks.
"In effect you have executed your own parents," he told Seddon.
"One can only imagine the horror of your parents' last moments in this life, when they realised what a monster their son, whom they loved, had become. Mercifully their deaths were swift.
"The reason for the attempted murders and the murders was greed. You needed money. You had lost your job. You had a mortgage. You had a family to support. You had some grand plans.
"Despite the fact that your parents had always been very generous in supporting you, you wanted more and you wanted it now - hence the plan to kill them and get your inheritance up front.
"The attempt at murder having failed, you decided on a more ruthless and definitive method of killing. You obtained a sawn-off shotgun from criminal associates.
"In Greek mythology, someone who killed a parent would be pursued until death by the Furies.
"Throughout time it has been recognised as a terrible and unnatural crime. You have killed not one parent but both of them. You have done so for gain. You have done so having first tried unsuccessfully to kill them by other means. You have done so by the barbaric act of shooting them at point- blank range with a sawn-off shotgun."
Outside court, Detective Superintendent Denise Worth, from Greater Manchester Police (GMP), said: "I actually find it difficult to put into words - someone who could kill and murder their own parents.
"It is hard to describe somebody prepared to do that.
"He portrayed himself as a devoted and loving son and told lie after lie after lie. He's just an evil, wicked man who did it all for greed."
PC Bryn Jones, the family liaison officer, read out a statement on behalf of the Seddon family.
It read: "The past nine months have been a very sad and emotional time for our family.
"The shock of having both Pat and Bob taken from us in such horrifying and tragic circumstances has left us feeling numb.
"Pat and Bob were a kind, loving and selfless couple who will be missed by their family, friends and especially their grandson Daniel, who they cared for with great love and affection.
"We would like to now be left in peace to mourn the deaths of Pat and Bob and be allowed to remember them as the loving couple that they were."
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