Mother's plea to son wanted over murder of pensioner

Graeme Jarman, left, is suspected of murdering Judith Richardson, 77 (PA)

The mother of a convicted sex attacker wanted in connection with the murder of a pensioner has appealed to him to hand himself in.

Graeme Jarman, 47, described by police as "a risk to the public", is on the run after a woman aged 77 was battered to death in her home with a hammer. He has convictions for rape, kidnap, armed robbery and indecent assault.

He went missing from his home in County Durham shortly before Judith Richardson was found dead in Hexham, Northumberland, on 19 August. Detectives have named him as a suspect.

His mother, Irene Jarman, 71, pleaded: "Graeme, you need to hand yourself in immediately at the nearest police station, it's the best thing you can do. You've handed yourself in before and you can do it again."

Detective Chief Superintendent Neil Adamson, of Northumbria Police, said: "We are asking people not to approach him as he is a violent and dangerous man." Jarman told one teenager he raped at gunpoint: "I am your everyday psychopath."

Miss Richardson's body was discovered by police in the hallway of her home after her handbag and some of its contents were found in a litter bin in Newcastle, 25 miles away, and police called at the home to ask if it was lost or stolen.