Overview

• Grange, 24, was sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court after pleading guilty to murdering Rachel Dixon during a March 21 attack at a home on Skelmersdale Road.
• He must serve at least 15 years and 25 days before parole consideration, with the term reduced from 15 years and six months to credit more than 150 days already in custody.
• Judge Christopher Morgan described the killing as an entirely unprovoked attack and said Grange blamed his mother for his parents’ breakup.
• Court evidence detailed at least nine stab wounds, signs of manual strangulation, and blunt‑force injuries consistent with a hammer, with a flick knife and bloodied hammer recovered by police.
• Family statements spoke of profound loss, while prosecutors said Grange called relatives after the attack and told officers, “I’m a monster,” as the court noted there was no supporting medical evidence for a mental‑health episode.