Moment murderer who stabbed grandmother in her home is arrested

‘How did you know I was here?’: Moment murderer who stabbed grandmother 29 times in her home is arrested by armed police in his tent after nationwide manhunt is revealed as he is jailed for life

This is the moment a university student who stabbed a grandmother 29 times in her home was arrested by armed police following nationwide manhunt – as he was today jailed for life. 

Dramatic footage shows officers using a knife to slash open a tent where Alexander Carr, 33, was sleeping in an area of wasteland in North London before hauling him out. 

‘How do you know I was here?’ the killer asks after being handcuffed. 

Carr murdered Michelle Hanson, 47, in her sitting room in Sunderland on December 3 before fleeing to the capital – where he was eventually located after searches lasting more than a fortnight. 

The Sunderland University student was seen by a witness cuddling his Ms Hanson, a friend, earlier on the evening that he murdered her. 

Dramatic footage shows officers using a knife to slash open a tent where Alexander Carr, 33, was sleeping in an area of wasteland in North London

The officers haul Carr to his feet before putting him in handcuffs. The red dot on his arm is from a Taser they were using 

‘How do you know I was here?’ the killer asks after being detained by the Met Police officers 

Carr knew alcohol and drugs had a serious impact on his mental health but still got intoxicated and smoked skunk that night before inflicting terrifying violence on the mother-of-five, Newcastle Crown Court heard. 

During the manhunt, police released pictures and CCTV of Carr featuring his distinctive walk.

He was found weeks later living in a tent near Upper Holloway railway station armed with a commando knife. 

The killer had a troubled childhood, has a long history of violence and was diagnosed with personality disorders and the court was told it was somewhat ‘remarkable’ he secured a place at university.

Psychiatrists agreed he was not suffering from a psychotic illness at the time of the murder but had been smoking ‘high potency’ skunk. 

Ms Hanson, who lived in an upstairs flat in Brady Street, Sunderland, had been paid that day and bought a bottle of vodka and a takeaway.

A witness, who cannot be named, saw Carr sitting with her that night and later described him seeming ‘nuts’ and ‘speaking in funny accents’.

During the manhunt, police released pictures and CCTV of Carr featuring his distinctive walk

Psychiatrists agreed he was not suffering from a psychotic illness at the time of the murder but had been smoking ‘high potency’ skunk. He’s seen in a mugshot taken after his arrest 

The witness was reassured Ms Hanson was OK and left, only to return the next day to find her lying dead in a pool of blood.

Daffyd Enoch KC, prosecuting, said the victim was repeatedly stabbed in the neck, that Carr had used a knife on her at least 29 times and that she was extensively bruised around her body.

Pieces of a broken dinner plate were found in her hair.

Nicholas Lumley KC, defending, said Carr had previously been diagnosed with personality disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and psychosis and had been sectioned under the Mental Health Act when he was younger.

Mr Lumley said Carr had written to the judge and admitted: ‘I knew my mental health issues were getting worse and I wish I had tried to seek out more help, rather than self-medicating with the excess of drugs and alcohol.’

Carr had admitted murder at an earlier hearing, having had a guilty plea to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility rejected.

Judge Paul Sloan sentenced him to life with a minimum term of 19 years and three months.

Carr murdered Michelle Hanson, 47, (pictured) in her sitting room in Sunderland on December 3 before fleeing to the capital

Carr initially lied to psychiatrists but eventually admitted he had smoked skunk – ‘which has a high potency’ – that night, the judge said.

‘You became increasingly anxious and paranoid and believed you were about to be harmed,’ he said.

‘I have no doubt that the principal reason for your paranoia was your voluntary consumption of skunk in combination with alcohol.

‘Your paranoia culminated in a brutal attack upon Miss Hanson.’

In a victim impact statement read out to the court, Ms Hanson’s daughter Shannon Brown said: ‘My mam was taken in such a vicious and mindless attack.

‘We believe that her last moments would have been spent in fear. To think she welcomed this evil person into her house as a friend is unbearable.

‘He has taken advantage of a vulnerable, kind and loving woman. 

‘It is horrific to know he towered over her in both height and strength and my mam was defenceless.’

In a victim impact statement read out to the court, Ms Hanson’s daughter Shannon Brown (pictured) said: ‘My mam was taken in such a vicious and mindless attack’

Detective Chief Inspector Graeme Barr of Northumbria Police said: ‘This has been a horrific ordeal for Michelle’s family and I hope today can help them as they begin to move on with their lives and accept her tragic loss.

‘They have shown real courage and strength since this investigation was launched and I want to thank them for all they have done to help us put Carr behind bars for his vile actions.

‘Carr has shown no remorse and has never provided an explanation for why he murdered Michelle – a woman who invited him into her home as a friend.

‘He killed her in her own home and then fled thinking we would never catch him. This is evident in the way he speaks to us during his arrest, genuinely shocked that the law had caught up with him.

‘Carr’s conviction and sentence shows that violence will never go unpunished and that dangerous people like Carr do not have a place in our communities.’

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