A twisted teenager brutally stabbed his brother to death in a jealous rage as their horrified mother watched on.
Tyler Lindley repeatedly plunged the kitchen knife into older brother Cameron Lindley's neck and chest during the horror attack in their mum's garden. Cameron sustained severe injuries and despite the best efforts by police and paramedics, was tragically pronounced dead at the scene.
Swansea Crown Court heard how Tyler, now aged 20, had a long history of disturbing behaviour and had made repeated threats against his brother in the years leading up to the fatal assault. He considered the university student to be the 'golden child' and their mum's favourite, Wales Online reports.
Prosecutor Michael Jones KC said that Tyler and Cameron has been put on the child protection register as youngsters and were subsequently placed together with foster parents. He added that Tyler had displayed "problematic behaviour" both in school and in foster placements and that interventions had been carried by numerous agencies and mental health services.
In his teens, Tyler's aggression continued to worsen and he started abusing cannabis and LSD. His foster parents eventually decided they needed a respite break from him and in January 2018, Tyler was separated from his brother and moved in with a new foster family in Port Talbot.
Following this, Cameron started a degree in aerospace engineering at Swansea University and started organising meetings between himself, his brother and his mother, often driving his sibling to their mum's house in Ammanford where he would effectively supervise their contact.
However, Tyler's "challenging" behaviour continued, and he began talking about stabbing his brother, setting fire to their mother's house and going on a "killing spree". At one point, he was arrested over threats he made towards Cameron and his mother, but neither wanted to press charges.
By 2022, Tyler was residing a hostel in Neath, while Cameron - by then in his second year at university - was living between student accommodation and his mother's house.
Despite Tyler's repeated threats and referring to them as "psychopaths", both his brother and their mum continued to have contact with him. Mr Jones said on one occasion, Tyler was asked to leave his mum's house following an argument in which he had described Cameron as the "golden boy".
The court heard that on September 8 last year, there was a family gathering at their mum's house in Treforis in Betws. After the extended family said their goodbyes at roughly 6.30pm, Cameron, Tyler, and their mother had dinner together and watched the news of the Queen's death on TV. The mum's young granddaughter was asleep upstairs.
At one point, Tyler went for a cigarette and was seen by his mother "glaring" at her and his brother from the doorway of the kitchen. When he came back inside, he grabbed the largest knife from the kitchen, "sniggered" and apologised to Cameron, and then lunged at his brother with the blade.
Cameron tried to fight his brother off and their mum attempted to intervene, at which point he was able to flee to the front garden. He was pursued by Tyler, who managed to catch up to his sibling and repeatedly stabbed him in the neck and chest.
Their mother watched on as the horror attack unfolded before locking the door in fear that Tyler would come for her and her sleeping granddaughter. Police were called and Tyler was arrested on the pavement outside the house. Cameron was found lying unresponsive and covered in blood on the lawn.
Officers attempted emergency medical treatment with paramedics arriving soon after to take over, but the 22-year-old could not be saved and he was pronounced dead at 9.10pm. A 21cm long blade stained with blood was later recovered from the garden.
The boys' mother later told police that Tyler's attack was motivated by jealousy and that she believed Cameron had run outside to get Tyler away from the house and protect her. A post mortem examination of Cameron's body found 19 stab wounds to his neck, chest and upper back including "gaping injuries" to his neck which severed arteries and his larynx. There were also multiple defensive lacerations to his hands.
Following the attack, Tyler was taken to hospital and then to Ammanford police station where he said "the voices made me do it". He also told investigators that he wanted to kill his brother but didn't want him to suffer, and started talking about Cameron and "black magic voodoo sh*t".
He later gave police a prepared statement in which he said Cameron had punched him and he had acted in defence, adding that he had no intention of causing his sibling any harm. He also said that Cameron had all their mother's love.
In a statement from Tyler and Cameron's sister Shelby, which was read to the court by junior prosecution barrister Carina Hughes, she said would never be able to understand what had happened. She said Cameron was a "good, caring, kind young man" who had a promising future, and described him as "loving and pure" uncle who was doted on by his nieces and nephews.
In a statement from the brothers' father Leighton, which was also read by Miss Hughes, he said he had lost his two sons on September 8 last year. He said the murder had a ripple effect throughout the whole family, and he was devastated at the death of Cameron.
Tyler Lindley, of Groves Road, Neath, had previously pleaded guilty to murder when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has two previous convictions from May 2022 for criminal damage and failing to surrender to custody.
During the hearing, the defendant interrupted with loud outbursts and at one point was removed from the dock and taken down to the cells on the judge's request. He was allowed back into court to hear his barrister speak on his behalf and to hear the sentence being passed.
Ignatious Hughes KC, for the defendant, told the court that nothing he was going to say on behalf of this "troubled young man" was intended in any way to diminish the horror and tragedy of Cameron's death. He said Tyler had been 19 at the time of the killing and it was clear from the numerous reports before the court that his client had a "disturbed and disturbing" background.
The barrister said two psychiatrists had independently given a provisional diagnosis of unstable personality disorder - though he said a formal diagnosis of such a condition was not possible until the subject reached the age of at last 25. He said the hallmarks of the defendant's condition could be seen in his behaviour both throughout his childhood and in the court at his sentencing hearing, adding: "This was not, and is not, a young man in his right mind."
Judge Paul Thomas KC told the defendant that on the evening of September 8 last year he had murdered his own brother in front of their mother, attacking him in the kitchen then pursuing him into the garden where he "butchered" him. The judge said the defendant had shown his sibling no mercy as he repeatedly stabbed him while their mother looked on helpless to stop what was happening.
He said he had no doubt the motive for the attack was jealousy at the "natural maternal love" the mother showed for Cameron, and he said he believed the killing had been premeditated. Judge Thomas noted the defendant had shown "no hint of regret or shame" for what he had done, and he described the defendant's behaviour in the dock during the hearing as a "performance".
With a 10 per cent discount for his guilty plea Lindley was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 18 years before he can apply for release - however it will be for the Parole Board to determine if he is safe to be let out. Judge Thomas said it may be in Lindley's case that he is never deemed safe to be released.
Speaking after the sentencing Dyfed-Powys Police detective superintendent Jayne Butler, said: "The circumstances of this investigation were particularly harrowing as Cameron, a young man with a bright future ahead of him, cruelly lost his life at the hands of his younger brother, Tyler.
"I would like to thank my team for the hard work and dedication they have shown throughout this difficult investigation. I would also like to thank Cameron’s family for their support following a very traumatic incident at the family home and the investigation that followed. The strength and dignity they have shown during this investigation must be commended and our thoughts remain with them at this sad time."
No custody photograph of Tyler Lindley has been released.
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