Online bingo addict jailed for murdering elderly uncle Published duration 9 November 2015

image copyright Suffolk Police image caption Susan Warne (left) was arrested after John Proctor was found at his home in Leiston

An online bingo addict who murdered her elderly uncle in his own home and stole his money has been jailed for life.

Susan Warne, 41, admitted pushing John Proctor down the stairs before stabbing the 80-year-old in the neck with a knife taken from his kitchen.

Mother-of-two Warne, from Leiston, Suffolk, also used a curtain tie to strangle him during the attack on 13 June, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

She was ordered to serve a minimum of 20 years before seeking parole.

Before visiting Mr Proctor, Warne had already stolen from her husband, son and father, the court heard.

She told him her husband had kicked her out of their home.

Mr Proctor offered to let her stay in his house in Grimsey Road, Leiston, where he had lived since he was a child.

image caption Police sealed off Grimsey Road in Leiston after the discovery of John Proctor's body on 15 June, two days after he was attacked

After Mr Proctor showed her to the bedroom, she pushed him down the stairs, the court heard.

While the fall "incapacitated" Mr Proctor, "he was still alive and might have lived to tell the tale and that was something you could not contemplate," said Judge David Goodin.

Warne then strangled Mr Proctor before stabbing him on each side of his neck, leaving a 9cm wound, the court heard.

Later that day, she went to a Lowestoft amusement arcade with the £300 she had stolen from him.

'Double tragedy'

The judge told Warne: "You had known him all your life. He was a stable, reliable, adult authority figure in the home as you and your sisters grew up."

Warne's family said Mr Proctor's death was the "tragic result" of gambling addiction.

"Finding out that a member of your family has been murdered is something you never think you will have to cope with in your lifetime, but then finding out it is a close member of your own family that is responsible is an unbearable situation to deal with.

"We believe gambling is a taboo subject and needs more awareness and help for those whose gambling may be affecting their lives."