Pensioner jailed for murdering neighbour, chopping up body and driving an hour to throw away remains in suitcases

19 January 2024, 19:40

A pensioner has been jailed for murdering his neighbour after a row and cutting up his body to dispose of the remains.

William Wilkinson, 65, has been given a life sentence for beating Eddie Forrester to death with a metal-capped stick in Blackpool in September last year.

Police said the reason for the attack remained "a mystery".

Wilkinson then "systematically dismembered" Mr Forrester's body, wrapped the body parts in plastic bags and put them in his van.

The murderer threw the remains away in the Cumbria countryside near Kendal, around an hour's drive north of Blackpool.

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Officers found most of Mr Forrester's body, some of which was in suitcases and covered in undergrowth, on September 13. Some parts of it have never been recovered, which Mr Forrester's family said "sickened" them.

Wilkinson was linked to the murder by forensic evidence and his own movements in the aftermath of the killing.

He was arrested while sleeping in his van. He denied the murder at first, before admitting it in the face of the evidence.

Mr Forrester was last seen on September 1. A "creature of habit", he was reported missing when he didn't show up for dinner with a friend.

Police found his flat empty, but they saw blood and evidence of a clean-up outside the property of Wilkinson, his downstairs neighbour. Mr Forrester's blood was also later found in Wilkinson's flat, as well as the metal-capped stick used as the murder weapon.

Wilkinson was first arrested on September 5, and denied knowing where Eddie was or arguing with him.

Officers searched through hundreds of hours of CCTV footage to piece together Wilkinson's movements over the days between Mr Forrester's death and Wilkinson's arrest.

They found that Wilkinson had disposed in Blackpool of several carrier bags, now believed to contain Forrester's belongings and some of his remains.

Wilkinson also carried out errands as if nothing out the ordinary had happened - including having a haircut and shaving his beard off, as well as shopping, going to a car boot sale, going to a pawnbrokers and placing bets at a bookmakers.

He was charged with murder days before the remains were found in rural Cumbria, but only admitted his crimes two months later.

Wilkinson was told he would have to serve a minimum of 19 years and three months before he could apply for parole.

Mr Forrester's siblings said their brother was "a quiet and harmless individual, who wouldn’t hurt a soul."

They added that they could not believe that "this savage, brutal and diabolic murder has happened.

“This was inflicted on our brother Edward -

“We, as his family, have had to live with what happened to Edward, leading to sleepless nights, nightmares and flashbacks.

“When we were initially told that Edward had been murdered we thought it would be a single act, possibly a punch, an irrational act, someone who would be sorry for what they had done. But what we have found to have happened to Edward, to disregard him as a human being and prevent him from being laid to rest as a whole person has sickened our family and is something that we will never get over.

“Edward will be sadly missed and loved by many and we are happy that today, justice has been served."

Lancashire Police's detective superintentent Mark Haworth-Oates said: "William Wilkinson was a man of previous good character and only he knows what happened on that Friday afternoon that led him to commit this most appalling crime.

"I welcome the life sentence imposed upon him today and hope that the family and friends of Eddie can have some comfort knowing that the person responsible for the offence will likely never be released.”