This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/wales/south_east/6624515.stm
The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Previous version
1
Next version
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Hillside murderers get life terms | Hillside murderers get life terms |
(20 minutes later) | |
Two men have been jailed for life for strangling and battering a man to death after he was said to have implicated one of them in a shop burglary. | Two men have been jailed for life for strangling and battering a man to death after he was said to have implicated one of them in a shop burglary. |
Barrie-John Horrell, 31, from Pontlottyn in the Rhymney Valley, was taken to a remote hillside where he was killed in July 2006. | Barrie-John Horrell, 31, from Pontlottyn in the Rhymney Valley, was taken to a remote hillside where he was killed in July 2006. |
His body was then set on fire by cousins Lee Davies, 28, from Nantyglo and Brett Davies, 23, from Pontlottyn. | |
Both were jailed at Cardiff Crown Court after admitting murder. | Both were jailed at Cardiff Crown Court after admitting murder. |
The court heard how Mr Horrell had "grassed" on Lee Davies for a shop burglary four years earlier. | |
Prosecutor Robin Spencer QC said: "It clearly festered in the mind of Lee Davies who told friends 'I'm going to have Barrie'". | Prosecutor Robin Spencer QC said: "It clearly festered in the mind of Lee Davies who told friends 'I'm going to have Barrie'". |
Mr Spencer said: "Lee Davies had an old score to settle. | Mr Spencer said: "Lee Davies had an old score to settle. |
"Barrie Horrell had grassed on him and told police he had taken part in a shop burglary. | "Barrie Horrell had grassed on him and told police he had taken part in a shop burglary. |
"Brett Davies lured him to a flat where he was beaten up. He was seen with a pillowcase over his head being led into a van." | "Brett Davies lured him to a flat where he was beaten up. He was seen with a pillowcase over his head being led into a van." |
The court heard Brett Davies also wanted revenge on Mr Horrell after allegedly telling his wife he had been unfaithful. | The court heard Brett Davies also wanted revenge on Mr Horrell after allegedly telling his wife he had been unfaithful. |
The pair also wrongly believed Mr Horrell was a paedophile. | The pair also wrongly believed Mr Horrell was a paedophile. |
Mr Spencer said the men had planned the murder and taken spare clothes to change into to avoid forensic tests. | Mr Spencer said the men had planned the murder and taken spare clothes to change into to avoid forensic tests. |
Mr Horrell's body was found under bracken on a mountainside | Mr Horrell's body was found under bracken on a mountainside |
The court heard how the men took Mr Horrell, who was disabled, to a hillside where they killed him. | The court heard how the men took Mr Horrell, who was disabled, to a hillside where they killed him. |
He had been strangled, hit with a house brick, kicked and stamped on. | He had been strangled, hit with a house brick, kicked and stamped on. |
His body was then set on fire and hidden in bracken. | His body was then set on fire and hidden in bracken. |
Mr Spencer said it was "gratuitous violence". | Mr Spencer said it was "gratuitous violence". |
The court heard how Mr Horrell, described as "timid and bespectacled", had regarded his two killers as friends. | The court heard how Mr Horrell, described as "timid and bespectacled", had regarded his two killers as friends. |
His badly decomposed body was found hidden in bracken just off the New Tredegar to Pontlottyn Road near Tirphil in July last year -11 days after he went missing. | His badly decomposed body was found hidden in bracken just off the New Tredegar to Pontlottyn Road near Tirphil in July last year -11 days after he went missing. |
Police arrested the two men who originally denied any involvement in the killing. | Police arrested the two men who originally denied any involvement in the killing. |
But the court heard Lee Davies' mother, Christine Blackman, told police she had seen Mr Horrell being taken from his son's flat bleeding heavily on the day he went missing. | But the court heard Lee Davies' mother, Christine Blackman, told police she had seen Mr Horrell being taken from his son's flat bleeding heavily on the day he went missing. |
Judge Christopher Pitchford ordered the pair to serve life sentences with Lee Davies given a minimum tariff of 18-and- a-half years before he can apply for parole and Brett Davies a minimum of 17 years. | |
"There are three aggravating features in the offence - the planning, the mental and physical suffering of Mr Horrell and the attempted concealing of his body," said the judge. | "There are three aggravating features in the offence - the planning, the mental and physical suffering of Mr Horrell and the attempted concealing of his body," said the judge. |
"You subjected a vulnerable man to a terrible death." | "You subjected a vulnerable man to a terrible death." |
Mr Horrell's mother Lilian gave a witness impact statement to the court saying her family "would never get over the death of her defenceless and unassuming young son". | Mr Horrell's mother Lilian gave a witness impact statement to the court saying her family "would never get over the death of her defenceless and unassuming young son". |
She said: "We will never understand the considerable violence shown to him by his supposed friends. We do not believe these people will ever be rehabilitated." | She said: "We will never understand the considerable violence shown to him by his supposed friends. We do not believe these people will ever be rehabilitated." |
Mrs Horrell said the Davies cousins had denied her "a chance to say goodbye to her son because his body was burnt and decomposed when it was found". | Mrs Horrell said the Davies cousins had denied her "a chance to say goodbye to her son because his body was burnt and decomposed when it was found". |
Previous version
1
Next version