KILLER nurse Susan Toop has been jailed for life for the brutal murder of her parents.

The daughter attacked dad Arthur, 82, and mum Joan, 74, with knives and an ornamental iron at the family’s Charminster bungalow in November 2008.

Judge Mr Justice David Clarke handed the 54-year-old the mandatory life sentence for murder at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

Toop was told she must serve a minimum of 18 years before being considered for release.

A Winchester Crown Court jury convicted Toop of the double killing in July, dismissing her defence of diminished responsibility.

Passing the sentence today (Sept 30), Mr Justice Clarke said he could not ignore the “extreme violence” the nurse had used to kill her parents.

He said: “I find this case a sad and tragic one.

“Your motivation for killing your parents is far from clear, even now.

“It appears you came to believe they were ready to die but there is no objective evidence to support this.”

The trial heard the Toops were a private, insular family.

Susan endured a volatile relationship with her “domineering” mother, who also resented her daughter’s closer relationship with her father.

She also worried about her father’s health after he needed a pacemaker fitted for a heart condition, though both parents were said to be in good health.

Toop told police she thought her parents were unhappy with life and claimed she had agreed a suicide pact with them.

On the night Arthur and Joan’s bodies were found at the family home in Uplands Road, officers discovered Toop with a slashed throat and wrists.

Experts agreed the nurse did suffer some mental health problems, including an “extraordinary” case of factitious disorder, in which a patient deliberately exaggerates or creates symptoms of illness.

But Mr Justice Clarke said that despite her “abnormality of mind” it did not “substantially reduce” Toop’s accountability for her final actions.

He added: “Your parents were both getting older and no doubt increasingly dependent on you.

“This, alongside all your other problems, appears to have increased the pressure on you.”

The judge said he took into account Toop’s previous lack of convictions and the glowing character reports from work colleagues, who described her as an exemplary nurse.

Having been previously held in a secure mental hospital, Toop will now be transferred into the prison system to serve the rest of her sentence.