Jack Crawley gets life in prison

A man who beat an army veteran to death with a hammer has been given a life sentence.

Jack Crawley, 20, from Carlisle, was sentenced at the city’s Crown Court to a minimum prison term of 37 years.

Paul Taylor, 56, from Annan, Dumfriesshire, went missing last October and his remains were found in woodland near Carlisle, Cumbria, in May.

Crawley was found guilty of Taylor’s murder, as well as the attempted murder of another man while on bail.

Crawley beat Mr Taylor to death with a hammer and tried to burn his body.

He then buried his body in a shallow grave in Finglandrigg Wood.

They had been in contact for some time before the murder and had previously met to have sex, a trial heard.

Crawley was also convicted of the attempted murder of a second man he met on gay dating app Grindr, who he also attacked with a hammer in York while on bail for Mr Taylor’s murder.

A jury found him guilty on Mondayafter more than eight hours of deliberation.