The relatives of three murder victims have expressed their distress that their killer is challenging his whole life sentence.

Arthur Hutchinson, 73, stabbed Basil and Avril Laitner and their son Richard to death on the night of daughter Suzanne’s wedding in October 1983, before raping a female wedding guest who was asleep in the house.

Now he is challenging his ‘life means life’ sentence, after the European Court of Human Rights ruled that such sentences, without any chance of review, were inhuman and degrading.

In a statement a spokesman for the family said: “Whenever even the name Arthur Hutchinson rears its ugly head, it does nothing but create fear and distress to the victims of this heinous crime.

“Let the Human Rights judiciary members be thrust into our position for just a day and maybe they would understand this.

“We are confident that justice will be done and more importantly, be seen to be done, so that this matter can finally be put to rest.”

The three members of the Laitner family were killed in their home in Sheffield just hours after Suzanne was married at the city’s United Hebrew Congregation.