A father and his teenage son have been jailed for life for knifing a thief to death in a brutal vigilante killing.
David King, 55, and Edward King, 19, armed themselves with knives in June 2021 before hunting down Neil Charles, 47, when they saw him trying to open cars and doors on a housing estate in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. After chasing him down a road on the Moreton Hall development, David stabbed Mr Charles in the chest with a double-edged fighting knife.
His son sliced the victim's knee using a 27-inch ninja sword and used the huge weapon to stab the tyre of Mr Charles’ pushbike, which he left at the scene. The Mirror reports that during the 10-week trial last April, both men denied intentionally killing Mr Charles but were found guilty.
Judge Martyn Levett sentenced David King, who inflicted the fatal wound, to life in prison with a minimum term of 21 years, which he must serve before he can be considered for release. He sentenced Edward King, who was just 18 at the time of the killing, to life in prison with a minimum term of 19 years.
The two men showed no reaction as they were led to the cells Prosecutor Richard Kelly described it as "vigilante behaviour" by the father and son, and "revenge or retaliation".
The prosecutor said that the pair had been "looking to exact violence upon a local thief". He said there were attempts to cover up Edward King's involvement in what happened.
David King had called 999 at around 4am on Sunday June 20, claiming a man had been trying to steal from his car. He told the call taker he had tried to apprehend the male who had run off, admitting he had a knife in his hand.
Upon arrival, officers located King and where the stabbing took place. Other officers found the victim who had sustained a serious stab wound to the chest and was taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital.
The prosecution argued the two men had actively gone out to hunt down and attack Mr Charles in an act of vigilantism. Police analysis of both men's text message history revealed they had a fascination with weapons.
It also revealed, following previous thefts in the area, they had an “intent and desire” to deal with any perceived criminals themselves, the court heard. The judge said both men went out "with the intention of hunting down Mr Charles and at least causing him really serious harm".
He said the message thread indicated that the men thought they "needed the likes of Charles Bronson to bring justice back to the streets".
Mr Kelly said: "We do not say there was an intention to kill in this case. The intention was to do really serious bodily harm."
Kieran Vaughan KC, for David King, said the defendant was "simply not the type of man to take a weapon on the street with the intention of causing serious injury to somebody".
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