John Victor Monckton (13 October 1955 – 29 November 2004) was a financier who was killed in his own house in November 2004, by Elliott White and Damien Hanson, while the latter was on probation after serving half of his 12-year sentence for attempted murder.
Educated atDownside andLincoln College, Oxford, he rose to the position of Managing Director of Bonds atLegal & General Group PLC, a large British insurance firm. He was aRoman Catholic, and a distant cousin ofViscount Monckton of Brenchley. He joined theSovereign Military Order of Malta in 1977.
He was murdered and his wife severely assaulted at their home in Upper Cheyne Row in theRoyal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, nominally a low-crime area. His nine-year-old daughter called the police, but the killers fled the scene. A suspect, Damien Hanson, was arrested the following day.
Hanson was eventually convicted of Monckton's murder and sentenced to serve three life sentences for killing Monckton, and the attempted murder of Monckton's wife Homeyra, in November 2004. His accomplice, Elliot White, is serving 18 years for manslaughter, wounding with intent and robbery.
The trial judge recommended that Hanson should serve a minimum of 36 years in jail before being considered for parole. This is one of the lengthiest minimum terms ever handed out inBritish legal history.[citation needed]
Hanson had at least one previous conviction for attempted murder when he killed Monckton. Hanson had been released from jail three months before the killing, halfway through his 12-year sentence. In 2006, Hanson's half sister, Laura Campbell, was jailed for four years for providing a fake alibi for the crime.[1]
