Colchester Killer (updated)

[drivelikejehu]

Just thought I'd provide a little update to an interesting worrying case that occured here in England recently. In a three month period two years ago, two people - a partially disabled man making his way home from a pub late at night, and a student making her way to classes at 6am - were brutally murdered in Colchester, Essex. The latter attack involved the victim being stabbed over hundred times. Both appeared entirely unprovoked. Police naturally thought the two were connected. They released a digital e-fit of a very young man in a red hoodie with the hood up and an eyebrow piercing and that was all we really knew for awhile.

Anyway, as some of you may know, the authorities arrested a 16yr old (!) kid last year when they caught him prowling around the same area with a knife and held him under suspicion of murder. Well, two days ago he admitted to those murders.

16! Really troubling, and straight-up scary. Really glad they caught him. Evidently it was only a matter of time as he didn't seem *that* organised but the fact he was still heading to the same place at strange hours with a weapon speaks to his intentions going forward. I used to go out with a girl in that part of Essex; the area of the attacks are pretty quiet but it does get a small amount of traffic at night, being a student down. So, really, who knows how many times people narrowly escaped the unthinkable just walking to and from places?

Chance and the chain of life's events is probably something we shouldn't ever dwell on really!

www.braintreeandwithamtimes.co.uk/news/north_essex_news/14224562.UPDATED__Teenager_admits_stabbing_James_Attfield_and_Nahid_Almanea/

[drivelikejehu]

Aaaand convicted. Just a final update. Caught when out looking for a third victim. Psychologists thought he was trying to feign a particular type of madness in his police interviews. The article makes for grisly reading. This kid seemed to have a thing for the eyes. I mean, jeez. And only 15 when he did these crimes. His first victim, he found collapsed in a car park at night after a little too much drinking. Talk about wrong place... His second victim was at 6 am, suggesting he'd been waiting out all night. He was wearing gloves when they caught him prowling, so definitely taking some precaution, and seemed organised. Just really scary stuff.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/apr/22/colchester-teenager-guilty-of-two-murders

[Drifter]

So I gather that the end result was a murder conviction, not manslaughter?

Here in the US, (or at least in Texas) "diminished responsibility" would be laughed out of court.

Drifter

[drivelikejehu]

May 2, 2016 8:42:13 GMT Drifter said:

So I gather that the end result was a murder conviction, not manslaughter?

Here in the US, (or at least in Texas) "diminished responsibility" would be laughed out of court.

Drifter

Yeah, pretty much the same thing happened here. The jury weren't buying it, neither were the psychologists or judge. I'm not sure, but I think the fact the crimes were committed when he was a minor will mean he serves his sentence in a maximum security hospital as opposed to prison, but not 100% on that. 

Below is a map showing how close he lived to the crimes. The map shows the walking distance between his house and where they found Nahid Almanea. 3 mins! The police investigated everyone who had a police record for knife crimes and interviewed him early, but bought his alibi that he was in bed. His mistake (and thank gawd he made it) is standing a few feet away from the last murder at 11am looking seriously shifty. A woman saw him when walking her dog and just turned around and called the po-po.