A BRICKLAYER who bludgeoned a customer to death in a row over extension work at her home has been jailed for life.
Sharon Gordon, 58, was found dead at the bottom of the stairs after suffering eight blows to the head with a hammer.
Sharon Gordon was bludgeoned to death at her home
Peter Norgrove has admitted murder
Police also discovered blood-stained items in a wheelie bin and the murder weapon stashed in a shed.
Peter Norgrove, 43, has now been jailed for life with a minimum of 14 years after pleading guilty to murder.
Wolverhampton Crown Court heard the killer had met Sharon through mutual friends at the church they both attended.
He had been carrying out building work on an extension at her home in Dudley, West Midlands, but there were problems.
In a victim impact statement, Sharon’s daughter said Norgrove had acted like a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”.
Rhian Brown also said the killer repeatedly lied to her about the work he was doing and stretched it over 15 months instead of 15 weeks.
She added: “He took full payment for the extension in advance, which we believe to be more than £30,000.
“He drove my Mom mad with stress and anxiety – she noted everything down.
“She had notebooks, receipts, everything, because of how bad this man’s workmanship was.”
On July 21, concerned friends went to Sharon’s house when she failed to turn up to work and found her dead by the stairs.
She was found with severe head injuries, which had been inflicted the previous day.
Norgrove at first claimed he had left the property the previous day but his lies were exposed when officers discovered the hammer.
Detective Inspector Damian Forrest, of West Midlands Police, said: “This appears to have been a disagreement over work carried out at the victim’s property which has escalated into violence.
“I am pleased the defendant has pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and spared Mrs. Gordon’s family the ordeal of a trial.”
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