BREAKING NEWS: Life in prison for three guilty of Northampton man's murder

Mr Miller, 56, was murdered in his Patterdale Walk flat in the Boothville area of Northampton at some point between the evening of June 10 and early morning of June 11 last year.

Crude attempts were made to dismember his body as the group tried to cover what they had done.

Joseph Catlin, 31, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to a minimum of 18 years imprisonment.

Judge Rupert Mayo said he had taken into account Catlin’s medical conditions, namely the two brain injuries he suffered, and his diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder when determining the prison sentence.

Zena Kane, 36, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to a minimum 20 years in prison.

Kane had appeared in court on 42 previous occasions and has 106 offences dating back to as early as 1999.

She previously spent time in prison for intimidating a witness and affray, and also for actual bodily harm.

Michael Hallett, 59, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to a minimum of 23 years imprisonment.

Hallett, who led police to the crime scene last year, has 106 previous offences dating back to the 1970s, which include charges of robbery and assault, possession of an illegal firearm, assaults, thefts, public disorders and a recent racially aggravated assault.

All three are to remain on licence for life.

Ian Cuthbertson, 51, was found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter, and he was given a seven-and-a-half year sentence, half of which will be served in custody, and the remainder on licence.

When sentencing Catlin, Kane and Hallett, Judge Mayo said he would not draw any distinction between the three when calculating their prison terms.

He said: “This is a classic example of joint enterprise.” He cited the evidence of witness Jason Smith, who told the court that Hallett had told him the group had attacked Mr Miller "like a pack of wolves."

Before the sentencing a statement from the victim’s brother was read to the court on behalf of the family.

“We as a family are devastated by the horrific murder of our brother David Miller and the appalling things that happened to his body after his death.

“David was a generous, loving and caring person who has never harmed anyone.

““His brutal killers heartlessly exploited David’s vulnerability, and we as a family will never forget what has been done to David, and the desecration of our mother’s memory.”