Arthur Hutchinson was born on 19 February 1941 in Hartlepool, County Durham. Reports suggest he had a troubled early life; his mother favored him, and his half-brother Dino recalled he was violent and struggled socially at school. As a youth, he stabbed his sister and fell into petty crime by his late teens—stealing cars, changing licence plates, and shoplifting. Later, he served time for serious offenses, including attempted murder of Dino and multiple sexual assaults. By 1983, he had already served over five years in prison and was accused of rape, burglary, and theft in Selby—escaping custody on 28 September that year, cutting his knee on barbed wire. 

Late on 23 October 1983, Hutchinson broke into the Laitner family's home in Dore, Sheffield, hours after the wedding reception of their eldest daughter. He gained entry through a patio window and silently attacked: he stabbed 59‑year‑old Basil Laitner, his 55‑year‑old wife Avril, and their 28‑year‑old son Richard to death inside the home. He then raped their 18‑year‑old daughter Nicola at knifepoint before fleeing. The case drew intense media attention and trauma reverberated throughout the community.

DNA and forensic evidence—palm print on a champagne glass, dental mark on cheese—tied him to the scene. Nicola’s description of her attacker helped focus the investigation. Hutchinson remained at large for nearly two weeks, traveling across Northern England in disguise—from Barnsley to Manchester and York. He was finally arrested on 5 November 1983, after police intercepted a call he made to his mother and tracked him to a farm near Greatham in Hartlepool.

He went to trial beginning 11 September 1984. He tried to deflect blame, accusing a reporter of the Sunday Mirror of committing the crimes. The jury rejected his defense and, on 14 September, found him guilty of three murders and rape. The judge handed down a life sentence with a recommended minimum of 18 years—later upgraded to a "whole-life" tariff by then-Home Secretary Leon Brittan, meaning no parole.

Since conviction, Hutchinson has repeatedly challenged the whole-life order. He lost initial appeals in May and October 2008, then took the case to the European Court of Human Rights. The 2015 chamber ruled against him, and in 2017 the Grand Chamber affirmed that whole-life sentences are lawful when review mechanisms exist. Now in his eighties, Hutchinson remains imprisoned at HM Prison Durham.