A YOUNG Kent woman who has made several suicide attempts since being locked up for trying to help two murderers evade police detection has won a cut in her sentence.

Sandy Chaplin, 18, of Speedwell Close, Gillingham, was convicted last year of attempting to pervert the course of justice in relation to the murder of father-of-three Scott Upton.

Chaplin was sentenced to three years of youth custody, but had that reduced to two years after a challenge at London’s Criminal Appeal Court on Thursday.

Mr Justice McCombe and Mr Justice Penry-Davey, heard how Chaplin had suffered as a result of the murder, developing a deep depression while behind bars, which has ultimately resulted in several attempts at suicide.

She had been charged with murder alongside Neil Smitheman, 25, of Station Road, Rainham, and Kieran Morris, also 25, of Speedwell Close, Gillingham.

Both men were found guilty and jailed for life, but Chaplin was acquitted of the murder at Maidstone Crown Court.

Mr Justice McCombe described how the murder arose out of a failed drug deal between Smitheman and Mr Upton on October 12, 2005.

After a telephone argument, Smitheman and Morris, accompanied by Chaplin, drove to meet Mr Upton near the White Horse pub, in Rainham. The two men had a crowbar and a kitchen knife.

When they found Mr Upton, they chased him and, once he had fallen, Smitheman repeatedly stabbed him.

His body was found the following day by a security guard working on a construction site.

Chaplin’s assistance to the pair was in discussing with them how to evade capture and by fixing up a temporary visit to a house where they thought they would be safe.

Her lawyers argued that the sentence imposed was “manifestly excessive” on grounds that she had told police what had happened and given evidence at the trial.

She had the threat of a possible murder conviction hanging over her head for months before the hearing began and had been deeply traumatised both by witnessing the killing and by her time in custody.

Mr Justice McCombe said: “We agree with the sentencing judge that an immediate (custodial) sentence had to be imposed and that it was required for the punishment of Chaplin and the deterrence of others.

“We bear in mind the increased harshness of a sentence on someone in ill health and, in our judgment, the sentence imposed on this young girl was too long.”