Lisa Clarke tortured and stabbed the 64-year-old ex soldier in a ‘sadistic’ attack lasting for two hours which left the victim’s family with ‘an emptiness that can never be filled’
A ruthless woman who ‘cruelly’ tortured an ex-soldier with her gang has died. Lisa Clarke was jailed for life for the crime, but died last month with an inquest into her death was opened.
BirminghamLive reported that Clarke, from Aston, along with three men formed a “sadistic” circle who left Brian Farmer to die in his flat at Bakeman House, Yardley, in May 2012. Horrific acts were committed against the 64-year-old included stabbing and having boiling water poured over him. The victim’s family previously revealed the crime “left an emptiness that can never be filled”.
Farmer served for over 20 years in the British Army, he suffered five stab wounds and had 17 separate injuries to his head and neck. He was also force-fed drugs during the horrid attack.
Clarke was convicted of murder following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court in 2013. She was jailed for 23 years in December that year.
Jason Andrews, then 40, of no fixed address, and Vaughan Davies, then 18, from Derby, were also convicted of murder and jailed for 27 and 14 years respectively. Peter Knowles, 52 at the time, of no fixed address, was cleared of murder but found guilty of manslaughter and jailed for 14 years.
Mr Farmer’s family described the killing at the time as “a cruel, senseless and barbaric act committed without remorse or feeling has left an emptiness that can never be filled”. The judge told the gang: “The conduct you carried out over a period of two hours came very close to sadistic.
“One or more of you poured boiling water over him for no better purpose than to humiliate and torture him. All of this to a vulnerable man in his own home when all he had done was invite you in as friends.
“This was a cruel and unpleasant way of ending the life of a man who had fallen on hard times, and, who, over the years had done service to his country.”
The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has launched an independent inquiry into the death of 53-year-old Clarke. The Birmingham-born woman had been an inmate at HMP Styal, a closed category prison for female adults and young offenders, in Cheshire.
An inquest into her death was opened at Warrington Coroner’s Court as her death was in custody. It emerged she was taken to Wythenshawe Hospital on October 21.
She underwent treatment but died on October 26. The inquest was adjourned to allow time for the case to be investigated.
A pre-inquest review is set for January 29, 2026, and the full inquest will go ahead on April 27, 2026.
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