Dudley, England – A builder in West Midlands, England, has been sentenced to life in prison for brutally attacking and killing a customer with a hammer. The attack came after “chronic” delays in building an extension to the victim’s home. The builder, Peter Norgrove, was ordered to serve a minimum term of 15 years after admitting to the murder of 58-year-old Sharon Gordon, who suffered severe skull fractures.
Norgrove, a recently qualified bricklayer, met Gordon through a mutual friend at the Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall they attended. He was paid £29,000 and agreed to build the extension within two months. However, the project was more than a year behind schedule, which led to ongoing criticism from Gordon.
The court was told that Norgrove, 43, was caught on doorbell and security camera footage before he killed Gordon at her house in Bromford Road, Holly Hall, Dudley. After the murder, Norgrove was seen picking up a child from school and then leading a Kingdom Hall service.
Judge Michael Chambers KC described the offense as “brutal and savage,” involving eight blows to the head, and was aggravated by Norgrove’s false statement to police regarding Gordon’s condition.
The victim’s daughter, Rhian Brown, expressed the deep impact of her mother’s brutal death, stating that nothing will ever restore or compensate for what they have lost. Meanwhile, Detective Inspector Damian Forrest, who led the investigation, emphasized that the attack appeared to have stemmed from Norgrove losing his temper after a disagreement over the work he was carrying out.
In addition to the sentence, the court heard that bloodstained items were found in a wheelie bin at a family address linked to Norgrove. Further searches revealed a hammer hidden in a shed at the victim’s home. The prosecutor, Earl Pinnock, mentioned that camera footage showed Norgrove entering the property through the back door wearing rubber gloves, and leaving with red marks on his trousers.
Ultimately, the court emphasized that the “rights and wrongs” of the extension over-run were not justification for Norgrove’s actions, and his brutal and savage attack on the victim was carried out with clear intention.