A drug addict who murdered a 73-year-old massage parlour owner by stabbing her 70 times in the living room of her home has been jailed for a minimum of 35 years in jail.

Lee Fueloep, Wombwell, was a drug-user - known for knocking on doors in the town begging for cash to fuel his habit, Sheffield Crown Court heard.

The court heard how he stabbed Jill Hibberd at her home in Wombwell, so many times she had injuries to her body, face, neck, arms and legs, plus damage to her kidneys, liver, lung and spleen.

Jill Hibberd, who was found dead in the living room of her home in Wombwell, Barnsley after being stabbed 70 times by Lee Fueloep, 40

Fueloep, 40 then stole Ms Hibberd's Audi TT sports car worth £26,000.

Fueloep, 40, refused to appear at Sheffield Crown Court to hear a judge jail him for life for the murder of Jill Hibberd and say: 'The brutal fact of this case is that a woman was brutally murdered in her home to fund one night of drug taking.'

The judge, Mrs Justice O'Farrell, said she believed that Fueloep did not intend to kill Ms Hibberd when he arrived at her newly-built detached house on May 30.

She said she thought the defendant went to try to intimidate the pensioner with a knife and take her car.

The judge said on Monday: 'But Jill Hibberd was not a woman who was easily intimidated. She stood up to him.

'He panicked and lost control and inflicted a ferocious and savage attack on an elderly and unarmed woman.'

The judge said some of the injuries were 'gratuitous' and must have been inflicted after she finished putting up any resistance and, probably, after she had died.

The court heard how Fueloep rifled through the dead pensioner's handbag and drove off in her red Audi TT, worth about £26,000, which was parked outside.

He sold the car within hours and used the cash to buy a large quantity of heroin and crack cocaine, which he consumed with other users at his nearby home.

Prosecutors told the jury that Ms Hibberd owned the Fantasia massage parlour in Sheffield.

The judge said he thought Fueloep tried to intimidate the pensioner with a knife and take her car

Fueloep, 40 then stole Ms Hibberd's Audi TT sports car worth £26,000.

Another defendant - Andrew Ashby, 26, of Woolgreaves Avenue, Wakefield, admitted handling the stolen Audi and was jailed for 32 months

The court heard he had 20 previous convictions for 85 offences and had been jailed on multiple occasions - at least twice for house burglaries in which cars were taken.

A victim impact statement from Ms Hibberd's close friend of 35 years, Jenny Lacey, said she was 'irreplaceable'.

Ms Lacey said: 'It has truly been a never ending nightmare.' She added: 'She never stood a chance'.

In her statement, Ms Lacey said Fueloep was a 'dangerous person who needs to be removed from society so he cannot hurt anybody else'.

Prosecutor Kama Melly QC asked the judge to commend the police investigation, saying that the South Yorkshire force had come under strain having to deal with 11 homicide inquiries from mid May to the end of the year.

She said that, despite this, five of these cases had already resulted in convictions and there were suspects awaiting trial in relation to three others.

Another defendant - Andrew Ashby, 26, of Woolgreaves Avenue, Wakefield, admitted handling the stolen Audi and was jailed for 32 months.