A man who murdered his neighbour in an attack with a kitchen knife, broken table leg and wooden shelving has been jailed for life – and will never be considered for parole.
Brian Whitelock, 57, was found guilty last month at Swansea Crown Court of murdering Wendy Buckney, 71, on 23 August 2022.
The pensioner was found dead, bloodstained and naked, in the living room of her home in Clydach, near Swansea, after Whitelock’s attack.
The court heard Whitelock was previously jailed in 2001 of the murder of Nicholas “Nicky” Morgan and the manslaughter of his own brother Glen Whitelock.
At the time, he was handed a whole life order with a minimum term of 18 years’ imprisonment.
Despite receiving a life sentence for murder and manslaughter, Whitelock was released from prison in 2018.
He then moved in opposite Ms Buckney, who employed him to do odd jobs, including gardening.
Whitelock, who appeared via video link from prison, was wearing a grey t-shirt and joggers.
At last month’s trial, he had pleaded guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility but denied Ms Buckney’s murder.
‘Must have suffered greatly’
Prosecuting, Christopher Rees KC said Ms Buckney “must have suffered greatly at the hands of the defendant before she met her death”.
Mr Rees said there were “significant similarities” between Ms Buckney’s murder and the deaths of Mr Morgan and Mr Whitelock, including that they were “without any obvious motive”.
The prosecution said evidence suggested there were “further sinister sexual elements to it”, with Ms Buckney having been “stripped naked by the defendant”.
At the time of his arrest, the defendant was “wearing only boxer shorts” which had been turned “inside out”.
“It is impossible to say whether such activity occurred when Wendy Buckney was still alive and injured,” Mr Rees added.
‘Most horrific manner’
In a statement read out on her behalf, Ms Buckney’s sister Anne said she had died in the “most horrific manner”, which had “traumatised” the family.
Ms Buckney was described by her sister as a “lovely, kind person” who was “bubbly and caring”.
“The way in which her life was taken we will never understand and we cannot or will ever accept,” she said.
She said Whitelock had “robbed” the family of their sister, auntie and friend and that there would “always be an empty void”.
“We can never move on from this. However, we just want justice for our sister and our auntie,” Ms Buckney added.
“He has taken the life of his friend, the person who never did him any wrong.
“Wendy’s own fault was to care too much and believe everyone deserved a second chance.”
‘Particularly senseless’
Asked by Mr Justice Griffiths if he had anything to say in response to the prosecution’s submissions, Whitelock, who represented himself at trial, said: “What can I say? I deserve what I get”.
Handing down his sentence of life imprisonment, Mr Justice Griffiths said Whitelock “killed [Ms Buckney] for [his] own pleasure”.
“Every murder is a tragedy, but the murder of Wendy Buckney was particularly senseless,” he said.
“She was a person about whom even [Whitelock] had nothing but good words to say.”
Mr Justice Griffiths said Whitelock had “degraded her body in death”.
“You inflicted a frenzy of violence on her, which caused her to die a brutal, terrifying death. She knew what you were doing to her,” he said.
“There were simply too many injuries to count.”
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
+ There are no comments
Add yours