A twice-widowed drug addict from Bradford has been convicted of killing two overdose victims.

A Court heard how 42-year-old Kathleen McCluskey had an "ambivalent" attitude towards men and had stockpiled large amounts of the heroin substitute methadone - the cause of both men's deaths.

Unemployed McCluskey, now of Cambridge, was cleared of two charges of murder but convicted of two counts of manslaughter at Norwich Crown Court yesterday.

She was convicted of the manslaughter of artist Mohammed Assadi, 47, who died of a methadone overdose in August, 1999.

She was also found guilty of the manslaughter of 32-year-old care assistant Marvin Brodie who also died of methadone intoxication.

But she was found not guilty of killing 50-year-old overdose victim Raymond Diaz and her second husband James McCluskey, 44.

Judge Mr Justice Moses said he would sentence her next month after studying psychiatric reports.

As she was led away from the dock, she swore and shouted abuse at the jurors.

The court heard how all of the alleged victims had drugs or alcohol problems and lived close to McCluckey.

Detectives could find no evidence of a motive for the killings although their inquiries established that McCluskey had been present at all four deaths.

"This was a complicated case and a very unusual one," said Detective Chief Inspector Paul Craig after the verdict.

"The common thread was that she was present at all four deaths.

"That seemed to be too much of a coincidence.

"We found no evidence of any obvious motive."

And jurors cleared her of administering methadone to Peter Bakulinskyj, 38.

Detectives suspected that McCluskey's first husband James Baxter, 50, might have been involved in the deaths of Mr Assadi and Mr Brodie but were unable to follow up their investigations because he committed suicide in January last year.

Nigel Godsmark QC, prosecuting, told jurors that McCluskey had an "ambivalent" attitude towards men and was prescribed such large amounts of methadone that she could stockpile it.

Police found a copy of the "pharmacist's bible", the British National Formulary - which gives details of prescribed drugs and their effects - at her home.

Speaking about the death of Mr McClusckey, Mr Godsmark said: "This was number four.

"Four deaths is just too many to be a coincidence - the common factor is this lady."

He added: "In each case the defendant supplied the drugs or supplied the means of taking these drugs."

McCluskey, who elected not to give evidence in the case, left Bradford in her teens and lived in Brighton and London before moving to Cambridge in the mid-1990s.