THE statue of the Buddha in the garden of Heather Stephenson-Snell's home in Crombie Avenue, York, suggested the person who lived there was at peace with the world.

But inside the mind of Heather Stephenson-Snell raged a darker force which drove her to a vicious murder.

On the outside, she was a picture of respectability, running a psychotherapy business which, ironically, aimed to help people come to terms with their inner demons.

But, as the jury at Manchester Crown Court heard during the two-week murder trial, she was unable to use her skills to help herself.

The York Psychotherapy Clinic she ran had been Stephenson-Snell's work for 13 years. The 46-year-old was registered with the National Council of Psychotherapists, but not with the official UK Council for Psychotherapy.

She was born in 1957 on the Mediterranean island of Malta, where her father was serving in the armed forces.

But at the age of seven her mother took her and her brother to live in Canada, where they stayed until she was 13 before the family moved back to England.

Stephenson-Snell was first sent to boarding school in Kent and a short time later went to live with an aunt in Scarborough, attending a local school but leaving at 16 with only five CSEs.

In her teens and early 20s she appeared before magistrates on a number of occasions for minor offences, the last being in 1986 for theft and criminal damage.

After getting a job in a bookshop she began dating the owner, Leo Snell. They married when she was 21, their son Solomon being born a short time later.

The family moved to Penrith in Cumbria where the couple opened a gallery and bookshop, but the marriage broke down and they divorced in 1984.

Stephenson-Snell stayed on in Penrith and began an Open University course in Social Sciences.

After finishing it, she enrolled at the University of York in 1987 to study for a bachelor of science degree in psychology, graduating in 1990.

She remained in the city, setting up the York Psychotherapy Clinic, which eventually moved to the premises in Crombie Avenue in 2000.

Stephenson-Snell provided counselling, psychotherapy and art therapy to clients who were sent to her by GPs, Social Services and voluntary agencies. People also found her through an advert in the Yellow Pages Directory and by word of mouth.

She described herself in court as an artistic person and said this had lead her to travel to New York to attend a screen writing course.

As well as using her home in Crombie Avenue as a clinic, Stephenson-Snell also used it as a base for the all-girls biker group she started.

They called themselves "Stuff The Ironing" and would meet in the garage at Stephenson-Snell's home, which she had converted into a clubhouse she called the "Orange Pit".

Stephenson-Snell was a keen motorcyclist and attended rallies throughout the region.

Adrian Sinclair said the Crombie Avenue property was a "fortress" with barbed wire and six-foot high gates. It was also home to a collection of knives, swords and guns.

It was her obsession with weapons that would have such terrible consequences on Halloween night last year.

The boss of the shooting range where Stephenson-Snell learned to fire a shotgun said he was stunned when he learned she had committed murder.

Philip Thompson, owner of the North of England Activity Centre in Rufforth, Yorkshire, said she took clay-pigeon shooting lessons early last year.

Mr Thompson said the she had four 30-minute lessons at the centre, learning to how to handle and fire a shotgun.

He could never have guessed was that Stephenson-Snell was to use her skills to kill.

"She just seemed like a regular person," he said. "Anyone can come in and book a lesson and that's what she did. There was nothing unusual about her."