Triple killer sentenced to life imprisonment for murder of neighbor

The family of a man murdered 24 years ago have said “catastrophic failings” of the probation service enabled his killer to strike again.

Brian Whitlock, 57, was given a full life sentence, meaning he will never be considered for parole. For drug-induced and “brutal” murder “Bubbly and caring” retired riding instructor, Wendy Buckney.

After serving 18 years in prison for murder and manslaughter, he moved into a flat across the road from the 71-year-old in Clydach, Swansea. Which also includes the murder of his own brother.,

It is understood there will now be a multi-agency review to find out whether officers missed opportunities to protect the public from the double killer.

The Probation Service has been asked for comment.

Whole life orders are reserved for the most serious cases.

nurse lucy letbyApril Jones killer Mark Bridger and Wayne Couzens, who He murdered Sarah Everard when he was a serving police officerAll were given life orders.

Sentencing Whitlock at Swansea Crown Court, the judge, Mr Justice Griffiths, described the murder as a “frenzy of violence”.

“(Wendy) knew what you were doing to her. Her injuries included injuries to her hands while trying to protect herself, but she was certainly no match for you,” he said.

“You described it as torture, and that’s what it was.”

He added, “You treated her like a second mother to you. She deserved nothing but gratitude, but you brutally murdered her anyway and you never suggested a motive.”

Wendy’s family were joined in court for the sentencing by the families of Whitlock’s previous victims, Nikki Morgan and Glenn Whitlock. Nine of the 12 jurors from his trial also returned to see him sentenced.

In a victim impact statement read out in court, Wendy Buckney’s sister Ann said that Wendy knew about Whitlock’s past but that she had given him odd jobs to do around her flat because she felt he deserved a “second chance”. Is entitled.

When the full life sentence was announced, there was applause in the court room.

Warning: This article contains details that some people may find disturbing.

Ann said her family can’t stop thinking about the day Wendy was murdered and whether she was scared, or “begging him to stop”.

“He didn’t just take one life. He took our lives too,” she said.

The scale of Wendy’s injuries meant that they were not able to go to the mortuary to say goodbye.

CPS Deputy Chief Prosecutor Hugh Rogers said the attack was “sustained and brutal”, adding that Wendy’s family had shown “remarkable patience” during the trial.

Det Chief Inspector Matthew Davies of South Wales Police said the crime scene was “one of the worst” they had investigated.

In addition to the extensive injuries on Wendy’s body, he said the flat was “devastated”.

A sofa was standing on its end, covered in blood and a shelf unit was torn apart. The broken cabinets matched the injuries found on Wendy’s body.

Wendy was naked, and Whitlock’s DNA was found on her underwear. it was the prosecution’s case he also sexually assaulted her,

He confessed to Wendy’s murder at the scene of his crime, but in court, where he represented himself, he claimed murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility, Saying that his actions were caused by head injuries,

But prosecutors rejected that claim, saying that the combined effects of alcohol and a “fixation” with diazepam, which he was buying off the streets, had driven him into a violent rage.

It took only six minutes for the jury at Swansea Crown Court to find him guilty of murder.

During the court case, it emerged that this was not the first time he had committed murder.

neighbor, friend, killer

Wendy Buckney knew about her neighbor Brian Whitlock’s past and wanted to give him a second chance. But were the opportunities missed to save the public from this double murderer?

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Whitlock had already spent 18 years in prison Murder of 27 year old Nikki Morgan After drinking alcohol and taking diazepam.

He then set fire to Nicky’s body, causing a fire that killed his brother Glenn, who was sleeping upstairs.

He was given a life sentence for the murders, but was released on license in 2019 and moved to live in Clydach, near Swansea.

He had to comply with strict conditions, including drug testing, and had restrictions on where he could travel.

nikki morgan’s family told BBC Wales He repeatedly warned the probation service that he was traveling to areas where he is banned and buying drugs.

Whitlock was eventually recalled to prison in December 2020 for assaulting a shop employee.

Nicky’s family then wrote to the parole board urging them to deny his re-release and warning that he would commit “another terrible crime”.

In a decision document seen by BBC Wales, the parole board said it had identified “protective factors” that would reduce his risk of re-offending, including “his ability to consider the circumstances and victim empathy”. Is.

Whitelock was released in October 2021.

Nicky Morgan’s sister Melanie Huxley said: “From the day he was released he was doing drugs, drinking, hanging out in Swansea – it was all against his conditions.

“If they had listened it could have been prevented.”

In the days before Wendy Buckney’s murder, neighbors became concerned about Whitelock’s behavior and reported it to the police.

Video filmed by a neighbor showed him leaning out of the window of his flat with blood on his face and slurring his words in what the judge described as a “very advanced state of intoxication”.

DCI Davis said officers attended but found no crime had occurred and gave appropriate advice.

The Parole Board said its review of the case had been completed and would not be published, but that it took such cases “extremely seriously” and was “committed to learning lessons”.