Double killer, 57, jailed for life without parole after murdering neighbour in savage knife, table leg and shelf attack
20 December 2024, 13:46 | Updated: 20 December 2024, 14:03
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A convicted killer has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his neighbour after savagely stabbing and beating her to death after she took him in.
Brian Whitelock, 57, assaulted neighbour Wendy Buckney, 71, with a kitchen knife, a broken table leg and wooden shelving during a sustained assault in her own home.
The bloodstained and naked pensioner was discovered in the living room of her home in Clydach, near Swansea, south Wales, on August 23 2022.
She had also been sexually assaulted.
Swansea Crown Court heard Whitelock had been jailed for life in 2001 for murder and manslaughter and released from prison after serving 18 years.
In the earlier case, Whitelock was found guilty of battering Nicholas Morgan to death with an axe handle and setting fire to his body.
Whitelock's brother, Glen, who was asleep in an upstairs room, died in the subsequent blaze, with Whitelock charged with manslaughter.
Christopher Rees KC, prosecuting, told the court: "There are, the prosecution say, significant similarities in relation to the cases.
"In both cases, a weapon was used to kill by repeated blows and both victims sustained severe injuries to the face.
"In both cases, explosive and disproportionate violence was used without any obvious motive. On both occasions, the defendant was under the influence of diazepam.
"The prosecution further say that the murder of Wendy Buckney has a further, sinister, sexual element to it.
"He inflicted stab wounds, fractures and bruising using various weapons including a knife, a broken table leg and MDF shelving over the course of many hours."
Whitelock had denied murder, pleading guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter by diminished responsibility claiming his actions were caused by a severe brain injury.
The jury at Swansea Crown Court took just 30 minutes to find Whitelock guilty of murder.
Mr Rees added: "The prosecution submits that all this material discloses that the defendant is an exceptionally unpredictable, volatile and aggressive individual who quickly resorts to sudden, extreme and disproportionate violence and has now killed three people.
"The murder of Wendy Buckney was committed while he was subject to a life licence for the murder of Nicky Morgan and was committed shortly after a period of recall following his assault conviction in 2020.
"He presents risks, the prosecution say, that can never be managed safely in the community and the court is invited to conclude that only a whole life order would be appropriate."
During the trial, the court heard Whitelock had a long-standing drug addiction and history of violence.
Mr Rees said Ms Buckney must have "suffered greatly" at the hands of Whitelock before her death, having sustained multiple stab injuries, sharp force injuries and blunt force injuries.
He said it was impossible to say whether the sexual assault took place before, during or after the attack.
Whitelock, of Tanycoed Road, Clydach, represented himself during the trial and told jurors he had no memory of the incident and was suffering from a brain injury at the time after he slipped over while out fishing.
He was released from prison in 2018 and moved in opposite Ms Buckney, who employed him to do odd jobs, including gardening.
She told a relative she employed him as "everyone deserves a second chance".
Whitelock had gone to Ms Buckney's flat fully clothed, but the next time a neighbour saw him he was covered in blood, wearing just his pants inside out.
Jeffrey Llewelyn, a neighbour, confronted Whitelock outside Ms Buckney's house while he was kneeling on the front lawn and wiping dirt over his body, where he heard the defendant say, "I've killed Wendy".
Another neighbour, Paul Jones, heard Whitelock say "I didn't realise what I was doing until I came down from the high".
The jury also heard Whitelock had previously told doctors he took "30 Polish diazepam a day" bought off the street.
A doctor, who carried out a CT scan ahead of the incident, believed Whitelock's confusion in the weeks before was caused by drug withdrawal, rather than his head injury.
Whitelock told the jury there was "no doubt" that he was suffering from "some form of brain damage" and insisted he did not "set out to hurt anyone".
The Parole Board originally released him in December 2018 and in December 2020 he was returned to prison after being convicted of assaulting a shop worker in a Co-op store in Swansea.
The following October he was released for a second time and, less than a year later, he murdered Ms Buckney.
Trial judge Mr Justice Griffiths asked Whitelock if he had any comments in response to the proposed whole life order. Whitelock replied: "What can I say? I didn't deserve it, head injury or not."
Imposing a whole life order, the judge said Ms Buckney had given him money for odd jobs and provided him with food.
"You described her as like a second mother to you. She deserved nothing but your gratitude, but you brutally murdered her, and you have never, ever suggested a motive," he said.
"You killed her for your own pleasure. After the cruelty of your attack on her in life, you degraded her body in death.
"You yourself told people afterwards that she was begging you to stop. You described it as torture and that is what it was.
"There is no doubt that there was a sexual element to the pleasure you took in your attack." The judge added: "This a case of the most extreme gravity.
"I have no doubt that the seriousness of this murder is so exceptionally high that just punishment requires you to be kept in prison for the rest of your life.
"Therefore, the early release provisions will not apply and you will never be considered for parole."
The Ministry of Justice declined to comment on whether any disciplinary proceedings against staff had taken place in the wake of the case.
"This was an appalling crime and our thoughts remain with the friends and family of Wendy Buckney," a spokesman said.
"A serious further offence review is currently under way, and we will share the findings of the review with Ms Buckney's family."
As the verdict was read out, Whitelock shouted from the dock that he hoped the jury "suffer a brain injury" and was immediately escorted from the court.
Mr Justice Griffiths apologised to the jury for the "disgraceful behaviour", promising them they were safe.
Whitelock, of Clydach, had represented himself throughout the trial.
Standing in the dock, Whitelock had previously claimed he had suffered a head injury several weeks prior to the murder while fishing.
He claimed he had "no idea" why he was at Ms Buckney's home on the day of the attack.
The court heard how the riding instructor was a "charitable" individual who would gave him odd jobs to help his rehabilitation following his release from prison.
"It's horrible what's happened, it's absolutely horrific - what I have done, what I have caused somehow," he added during the trial.
"I don't know what else I can say - I'm sorry - I can't forgive myself, I don't think I will ever come to terms with what's happened, I expect to spend the rest of my life in jail, I deserve to," Whitelock told the court.
"Why did I do that to someone, to anyone, to Wendy, someone who was so nice to me? To do that to anyone at all is horrific.
"He added he didn't "know whether [he had] done it" but that he was "accepting [his] fate".
According to the defendant, the injury led to memory loss and days without sleep in the run-up to the attack.
Swansea crown court heard Buckney was loved by her 16 nieces and nephews, alongside her two adult stepchildren, teaching "hundreds of children" how to ride horses.
The jury has previously heard Whitelock was released from prison in 2018 after serving a life sentence for murder and manslaughter in 2001.
Whitelock said he was "not answering any more questions about a trial that happened 24 years ago".
"What happened 24 years ago has no relevance to this trial," he added, while he accused the prosecution of trying to "tie [him] in knots".
Christopher Rees KC, prosecuting, said Whitelock’s previous convictions showed a “propensity to use explosive and disproportionate violence”, especially under the influence of drugs.
Whitelock will be sentenced on 20 December.
