A man who murdered his wife and their 12-year-old daughter was described as a “monster” by the woman’s mother as he was jailed for life with a minimum term of 40 years.
Police found the bodies of Jillu Nash, 43, and her child Louise at their home in Great Waldingfield, Sudbury, Suffolk, while 47-year-old Peter Nash was found covered in blood and holding a knife.
He had strangled his wife after she began a relationship with a work colleague.
Nash then tried to gas himself and his non-verbal autistic daughter to death, and when this failed he stabbed her in the stomach and stabbed himself in the chest multiple times.
He was found guilty following an earlier trial at Ipswich Crown Court of their murders.
Mr Justice Edward Murray sentenced Nash at the same court to life in prison, setting the minimum term as 40 years, which he must serve before he can be considered for release.
The judge told the defendant: “Even if you live a long life, there’s a strong possibility given your current age that you will die in prison.”
He said Nash “attempted to justify these murders with relation to a deeply flawed set of beliefs about the law that you’ve got from internet searches”.
He said the defendant had shown no remorse for the killings.
Prosecutor David Josse KC said that the defendant murdered his wife and daughter either late on September 7 or early on September 8 last year.
Mrs Nash’s mother Dhruti Shah, who was also Louise’s grandmother, fought back tears as she read her victim impact statement in court on Wednesday.
She described her daughter as a “brilliant mum” with a “beautiful smile” and a “positive attitude towards life”.
“She always did the best by her beautiful daughter Lou,” said Mrs Shah.
She said that “losing my girls was like losing one’s breathe”.
Mrs Shah described Nash as a “living human monster”, adding: “He took life like they were toys in his hands.”
She described him as “evil beyond belief”, weeping as she told of how her daughter was a “petite woman and how a little non-verbal child went to sleep innocently to never wake up again”.
Nash, who represented himself in court, was dismissive of the victim impact statements read in court, saying from the secure dock: “It’s BS and I knew them better.”
He added: “It was not premeditated, it was already predetermined.”
The judge said Mrs Nash was a “loving and devoted mother” to autistic Louise.
He said Louise was a “happy and cheerful girl who inspired great affection in those who knew her”.
Nash showed no visible reaction as his sentence was read out and he used his walking frame to head down to the cells, as family members of Mrs Nash wept in the public gallery.
