THE couple who murdered well-loved Keighley man George Dore were yesterday jailed for life at Bradford Crown Court.

Leslie Walker, 46, of Nightingale Street, Keighley, must serve a minimum of 22 years behind bars before he can be considered for release by the Parole Board.

Angela Thornton, 48, of the same address, will spend at least 19 and a half years in prison.

Both were convicted of Mr Dore’s murder last week after a ten-day trial.

Judge Jonathan Rose said Mr Dore, 49, was fatally stabbed by Walker and beaten by Thornton with a stick or metal bar on the street where he lived.

Mr Dore’s partner Michaela Roberts had described him as laid back and someone who would do anything for anyone.

The family was at the time planning for his 50th birthday and that added extra poignancy to his tragic death, Judge Rose said.

The night before the murder, Walker and Thornton were “blitzed” after taking a cocktail of drugs and alcohol and they wanted the money to buy more drugs.

Thornton believed she was owed £300 by Mr Dore: “a paltry sum for which a man should lose his life,” Judge Rose said.

The couple took a taxi to Mr Dore’s home in Fell Lane, Keighley, at 3.40am on April 8.

Mr Dore was a large man so they brought weapons. Walker had a knife and Thornton the stick or metal bar.

“I am sure that George Dore was not armed with a knife when he came out of his house. He had nothing in his hands,” Judge Rose said.

He also rejected the suggestion that Walker found the knife in the street. Judge Rose said he couldn’t be sure that Thornton knew Walker had taken the knife from their home address.

Both were aggressive and abusive outside Mr Dore’s home. Thornton struck his door with her stick or bar and Walker kicked it.

Mr Dore came out and pushed Thornton because he was provoked, Judge Rose said.

In the scuffle that ensued, Thornton beat Mr Dore to the back and neck and Walker stabbed him to the heart. Mr Dore managed to get back into his home but despite valiant efforts to save him he was pronounced dead shortly after 5am.

Judge Rose said Walker and Thornton were so heavily intoxicated they could not limit their actions. The offences took place at night outside Mr Dore’s home and both were armed.

Mr Dore was unable to defend himself, he was a vulnerable victim and they had come prepared to use violence if necessary.

They went back to the scene to recover the knife and it was thrown into a stream to thwart the police investigation.Thornton ordered the taxi and wanted and expected Walker to go with her to Mr Dore’s home. She had convictions for violence and was on bail at the time accused of having an offensive weapon made of a tin can in a sock.

Judge Rose said that the intention to cause really serious harm to Mr Dore was finalised only when the couple arrived in Fell Lane. But neither had shown any genuine remorse.

The judge expressed his condolences to Miss Roberts, Mr Dore’s brothers and the rest of his family.

Earlier, John Elvidge QC, Walker’s barrister, said the cold reality was that the implications of the loss of Mr Dore’s life were profound.

He conceded that little sympathy would be extended to Walker for the “catastrophic outcome,” that day. Walker had not accepted prior possession of the knife and there was a serious altercation going on when he used it.

He was heavily intoxicated at the time and had a long-standing drug addiction.He had no previous convictions for violent offending so the offence was completely out of character, Mr Elvidge stated.

He felt a sense of remorse and responsibility and had never sought to blame anyone else for the stabbing.

Tahir Khan QC, Thornton’s barrister, said Walker had possession of the knife at some point and used it to stab George Dore.

She was a “secondary party” convicted of assisting and encouraging the stabbing and not delivering the fatal blow. Mr Khan conceded that Thornton’s criminal record was “unenviable” and had its roots in drug addiction but she had never been convicted of an offence of possession or use of a knife.

Mr Dore’s brothers spoke of their heartache. Gerald Dore described “an emptiness” and said he found the murder difficult to forgive.

Ms Roberts said her partner had been “mindlessly and meaninglessly murdered”.