Couple sentenced to life after 'callously' drowning homeless woman before claiming her benefits

Kevin Flanagan and Kathleen Salmond received £5,000 after drowning victim in bath

Lisa Bennett's body was dumped in a wheelie bin, Birmingham Crown Court heard (SWNS)

A couple who drowned a homeless woman, dumped her body in a bin and then fraudulently claimed her welfare benefits have been jailed for life.

Kevin Flanagan was told by a judge on Friday he will serve a minimum of 32 years in prison, while his girlfriend Kathleen Salmond was handed a minimum term of 27 years.

After a trial at Birmingham Crown Court this week, the pair were convicted of murdering Lisa Bennett, a vulnerable 39-year-old, in 2013.

The court heard that after drowning Ms Bennett in their flat in Birmingham, Flanagan and Salmond left her body in a wheelie bin.

Her remains have never been recovered and it is thought the body was probably incinerated at a waste facility.

Flanagan and Salmond then claimed £4,979 in benefits by pretending Ms Bennett was still alive.

The “callous” couple were only caught when Flanagan’s brother came forward to tell police his sibling had confessed about the killing, prompted by seeing a missing persons appeal led by Ms Bennett’s mother in 2014.

Salmond, who appeared during proceedings via video link from a bed, was also found guilty of benefit fraud in May 2013 and preventing Ms Bennett’s burial – charges Flanagan had previously admitted.

When questioned by police about the 39-year-old’s disappearance and why her benefits were now being paid into their accounts, the pair brazenly told detectives the victim had asked them to transfer benefits, which would then be collected for her by a fictitious boyfriend called Ian.

Flanagan also used Ms Bennett’s phone to text her mother “to make her believe that nothing had happened and Lisa was alive”, prosecutors said.

Speaking after the trial, David Parsons from the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Kevin Flanagan and Kathleen Salmond have received lengthy jail sentences for the brutal and senseless murder of a vulnerable woman.

“Flanagan will be 71 years and Salmond will be 67 before they can be considered for release.

“They befriended Lisa Bennett and then callously cut her life short causing immeasurable pain for those who loved her.

“Lisa’s parents were deprived of the opportunity to bury their daughter and say goodbye.

“Today, they have received life sentences for their crimes and while this can never bring Lisa back, I hope today’s sentencing brings some small comfort to Lisa’s parents who have suffered immensely due to Flanagan and Salmond’s cruelty.”

Additional reporting by PA