35 years for burglars who beat hero woman to death

Dean Atkins, 26, and brother Michael, 25, killed 65-year-old Chinese restaurant owner Kam Fum Chung after she refused to tell them where she hid her life savings.

After escaping with a diamond ring, a car and a mobile phone, the masked robbers, armed with an imitation gun, an 8in knife, a knuckleduster and a crowbar, moved on to the nearby home of construction tycoon Bernard Dwyer.

There they terrorised his family and held a knife to his 13-year-old daughter's throat before he chased them off. During-sentencing at the Old Bailey today, the younger of the brothers, who smirked throughout the hearing, told the court "go f**k yourselves" as he stormed out accompanied by guards.

The pair, who both swaggered into the courtroom, told a female family member in the public gallery they loved her.

Wailing and shouting she loved them too, she screamed at the prosecution and the Dwyer family "are you happy now you bastards" before leaving court.

The brothers, from Uxbridge, broke into Ms Chung's home in Cowley, west London, just before midnight on 5 November, 2006. They targeted the Uxbridge home of Mr Dwyer just under an hour later.

The day before the burglary Dean Atkins escaped from Standford Hill jail in Sheerness, Kent, where he had been serving a sentence for another burglary.

Michael Atkins was on licence for other offences at the time. A friend of the pair, Thomas Carty, 21, who helped with the crimes, later committed suicide.

Sentencing the pair Judge Stephen Kramer said: "You were prepared to use extreme violence that night and did so... with appalling consequences."

He added that after the "pitiless and brutal" attack on Ms Chung, the gang "met their match" in Mr Dwyer. The trio burst into his home and forced his 18-year-old son Danny and daughter Aisling onto the floor at gunpoint.

They then began beating him before holding a knife to Aisling's throat and threatening to kill her. Despite suffering 34 injuries Mr Dwyer, now 51, managed to fight and chase them off.

The men, who were found guilty of murder, two counts of aggravated burglary, wounding Mr Dwyer with intent and possession of an imitation handgun, were each sentenced to a minimum of 35 years in prison.

Mr Dwyer said: "Whoever freed these boys or let them walk out of prison deserved to be in the dock with them."