Stephen Seddon given life for murdering parents in Sale
A man who shot his parents dead after trying to kill them by driving a car into a canal has been jailed for life.
Stephen Seddon, of Benevente Street, Seaham, drove to his parents' home in Sale, Greater Manchester, last July to kill them and claim inheritance.
He was convicted of two counts of murder and attempted murder at Manchester Crown Court on Wednesday.
The 46-year-old was given a life sentence for the murders with a minimum term of 40 years.
He was also given a sentence of 20 years for the attempted murders to run concurrently.
Seddon had tried to murder his father, Robert Seddon, 68, and mother, Patricia, 65, by driving into the canal with them strapped in the back seats in a faked road accident in March.
Four months later, he killed the couple with a sawn-off shotgun at their house.
Sentencing him, Judge Nicholas Hamblen said Seddon had been involved in a "continuum of crime culminating in the cold-blooded killing of a quiet, unassuming, elderly couple in their own home".
Seddon shouted at the judge that he was "an innocent man", to which the judge replied that he should "keep quiet".
Mr Justice Hamblen said Seddon's attempt to murder his parents had meant they "not only had to endure a terrifying, life-threatening experience but they also suffered consequent sleeplessness, nightmares, depression and stress".
"The reason for the attempted murders and the murders was greed," he said.
"You needed money. You had lost your job. You had a mortgage. You had a family to support. You had some grand plans.
"Despite the fact that your parents had always been very generous in supporting you, you wanted more and you wanted it now - hence the plan to kill them and get your inheritance up front."
Mr Justice Hamblen told Seddon that "in effect, you executed your own parents".
"One can only imagine the horror of your parents' last moments in this life when they realised what a monster their own son, who they loved, had become," he said.
"Mercifully, their deaths were swift."
Speaking after sentencing in a statement read out by police, relatives of Mr and Mrs Seddon said it had been a "very sad and emotional time for our family".
"The shock of having both Pat and Bob taken from us in such horrifying and tragic circumstances has left us feeling numb.
"Pat and Bob were a kind, loving and selfless couple who will be missed."