I assume this is the most up-to-date guidance. His sentence will exceed 30 years with aggravating factors, certainly, but I don’t think it will be a whole life order. I would be very happy to be wrong about that.
www.legislation.gov.uk
(1)
If—
(a)the court considers that the seriousness of the offence (or the combination of the offence and one or more offences associated with it) is exceptionally high, and
(b)the offender was aged 21 or over when the offence was committed,
the appropriate starting point is a whole life order
.
(2)
Cases that would normally fall within sub-paragraph (1)(a) include—
(a)the murder of two or more persons, where each murder involves any of the following—
(i)a substantial degree of premeditation or planning,
(ii)the abduction of the victim, or
(iii)sexual or sadistic conduct,
(b)the murder of a child if involving the abduction of the child or sexual or sadistic motivation,
(c)the murder of a police officer or prison officer in the course of his or her duty, where the offence was committed on or after 13 April 2015,
(d)a murder done for the purpose of advancing a political, religious, racial or ideological cause, or
(e)a murder by an offender previously convicted of murder.
3(1)If—
(a)the case does not fall within paragraph 2(1) but the court considers that the seriousness of the offence (or the combination of the offence and one or more offences associated with it) is particularly high, and
(b)the offender was aged 18 or over when the offence was committed,
the appropriate starting point, in determining the minimum term, is 30 years.
9Aggravating factors (additional to those mentioned in paragraphs
2(2),
3(2) and
4(2)) that may be relevant to the offence of murder include—
(a)a significant degree of planning or premeditation,
(b)the fact that the victim was particularly vulnerable because of age or disability,
(c)mental or physical suffering inflicted on the victim before death,
(d)the abuse of a position of trust,
(e)the use of duress or threats against another person to facilitate the commission of the offence,
(f)the fact that victim was providing a public service or performing a public duty, and
(g)concealment, destruction or dismemberment of the body.
10Mitigating factors that may be relevant to the offence of murder include—
(a)an intention to cause serious bodily harm rather than to kill,
(b)lack of premeditation,
(c)the fact that the offender suffered from any mental disorder or mental disability which (although not falling within section 2(1) of the Homicide Act 1957) lowered the offender’s degree of culpability,
(d)the fact that the offender was provoked (for example, by prolonged stress) but, in the case of a murder committed before 4 October 2010, in a way not amounting to a defence of provocation,
(e)the fact that the offender acted to any extent in self-defence or, in the case of a murder committed on or after 4 October 2010, in fear of violence,
(f)a belief by the offender that the murder was an act of mercy, and
(g)the age of the offender.
