Phillip Austin (born 14 February, 1969 in

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

, England) is a British convicted triple murderer. During the course of a day in July 2000, Austin killed his wife Claire Quinn (aged 31), their two children, Kieren (aged 8) and Jade (aged 7), and two dogs. In March 2001, Austin was sentenced to three concurrent life sentences. The presiding judge described Austin's

family annihilation A familicide is a type of murder or murder-suicide in which one kills multiple close family members in quick succession, most often children, spouses, siblings, or parents. In half the cases, the killer lastly kills themselves in a murder-sui ...

as "beyond the bounds of belief."

Background

Claire and Phillip Austin married in 1993, after the births of their children. Austin worked the night shift as a

forklift A forklift (also called lift truck, jitney, hi-lo, fork truck, fork hoist, and forklift truck) is a powered industrial truck used to lift and move materials over short distances. The forklift was developed in the early 20th century by various c ...

operator, and Claire worked for Northamptonshire County Council as a part-time home help. Phillip Austin was 31 years old when he murdered his family.

Murders

On 10 July 2000, Austin and Claire were at the house they shared on the Standens Barn housing estate in Northampton. Austin hit his wife over the head with a

mallet A mallet is a tool used for imparting force on another object, often made of rubber or sometimes wood, that is smaller than a maul or beetle, and usually has a relatively large head. The term is descriptive of the overall size and proport ...

. After a struggle, Austin strangled her with her bra, and then stabbed her with two carving knives. Using the same mallet, Austin battered the family's poodles, Dandy and Sooty, to death. Austin proceeded to pick up his children from school, and took them out for a meal of fish and chips on the way home. Once home, Austin sedated both children and strangled them in their bedrooms.

Arrest and sentencing

During the week in which the murders remained undiscovered, Austin spent the week on the run, in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

and Scarborough. On 20 July, Austin was arrested in the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...

, as he sat in his car with his wrists slashed. When asked what caused him to attack his wife, Austin told detectives, "She started hassling me and arguing and that. I just turned on her." When asked his reasons for murdering his children, he stated, "It sort of came to me that I had killed her so I went upstairs and killed my children." Austin initially pleaded not guilty to the murders on the grounds of diminished responsibility. Austin then changed his plea and was given three concurrent life sentences. Austin will have to serve a minimum of 20 years, after which time he will be eligible to apply for parole. After applying for parole in 2021, his move to an open prison was refused by the Parole Board for England and Wales.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, Phillip Living people English murderers of children English prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment English people convicted of murder Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by England and Wales People from Northampton People convicted of murder by England and Wales Familicides 1969 births