Why was he allowed out to kill again?

Theodore Johnson was given a three-year prison sentence by Judge Talbot for the manslaughter of his wife Yvonne Johnson in Wolverhampton in 1981.

Johnson, now aged 64, would go on and kill two more women, including his ex-girlfriend Angela Best last year.

Today he will be sentenced for her murder - 11 years after he strangled to death another partner, Yvonne Bennett, in 1993.

For Ms Bennett’s death, Johnson was sent to a secure hospital indefinitely after admitting manslaughter.

As he faced sentencing today at The Old Bailey questions were being asked of the justice system as to why he was free to carry out the killings.

And records from the 1981 trial, when Johnson was convicted of killing his wife Mrs Johnson, pushing her from a balcony in Blakenhall, show Judge Talbot said: “You have led a good and decent life and you are not a violent man... what happened happened because of the deep provocation you have been put to.” The judge had heard how Johnson had lost his temper during an argument over going to church, and during a struggle he had pushed his wife away, causing her to fall over the balcony and to her death.

Johnson would later be released and meet his second victim Ms Bennett, who he lived with in Wolverhampton.

The couple moved to Finsbury Park in north London where, in 1992, he strangled her with a belt after she had an affair with another man.

He then tried to hang himself after the killing and was convicted at the Old Bailey of killing Ms Bennett by diminished responsibility.

He was sent to a secure hospital indefinitely.

Then, after being released again, he started a relationship with Miss Best which lasted until last year and she started to see another man.

Johnson stalked her before attacking her, throttling her with a dressing gown belt.

Again, he tried killing himself after the killing, throwing himself in front of a train at Cheshunt railway station in Hertfordshire.

Sandra Davis provided care to Johnson as a health care assistant at Chase Farm Hospital in Enfield as he served his sentence following the death of Ms Bennett. She said: “I was waiting for this to happen. He was a very charming man who worked the system. While inside he was talking to girls outside, we all knew his past but he was well-liked and people were prepared to pull a blind eye.”

She claims Johnson was given unescorted parole every other weekend during his stay at the hospital.

Katie Ghose, head of the Women’s Aid domestic abuse charity, said: “The criminal justice system has failed to recognise this repeated pattern and thereby protect victims.”

“We must ensure that perpetrators are held to account for their fatal violence with sentencing that reflects the serious nature of this crime.”

Last night, a spokesman from the Judicial Office said: “All judges deal with each case individually.

“They will make a decision based on the facts of each case and within sentencing guidelines. For example there may be aggravating and mitigating factors in each case which may influence the outcome of the sentence.”

Sir Talbot died in 2004, aged 92.