28 notorious criminals from around the UK jailed in March

A triple-killer who will die behind bars after raping and killing a pregnant woman and a crack cocaine addict who murdered a pensioner after he refused to give up his PIN were just two of the notorious criminals from across the UK locked up last month.

Other offenders facing lengthy jail terms include a police sergeant who raped a woman who late grave birth to his baby and a teaching assistant who had sex with a 14-year-old pupil in a supermarket car park. A woman who faked her own death and a pervert ex-Radio One DJ were also put behind bars in March.

These are some of the most shocking court cases that have been widely reported in the UK in recent weeks.

Zoe Bernard faked her own death in a bid to avoid prosecution for driving offences. The 38-year-old was already banned from the roads when she was arrested for driving carelessly and failing to stop in Kilburn, north London, in November 2020.

Posing as her sister Shanice in phone calls to police in the weeks after her arrest, she said “Zoe” was ill and had then died. Bernard then applied for a death certificate from Westminster Register Office in a failed bit to bolster her claim, Southwark Crown Court heard.

Judge Martin Beddoe jailed Bernard, from Kensington, west London, for eight months, of which she will serve half after she previously pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice. Bernard was prosecuted in the magistrates’ court in December last year and handed a six-month curfew after being found guilty of driving without insurance, failing to stop, driving while disqualified and careless driving.

Her barrister Margo Munro Kerr said her client has physical and mental health problems and has suffered a string of tragedies, including losing her uncle and