Dressed in a black jacket and shorts with black socks pulled up to her knees Dionne Timms-Williams looked like just your regular teenager. Footage of her walking through a Cardiff street gave no suggestion she would go on to commit murder that night.
Having met with Jason Edwards and Lee Strickland in Queen Street the then 16-year-old made her way to Bute Park where she and her co-defendants were to target gay men to rob before setting their sights on Dr Gary Jenkins, 54. They proceeded to punch, kick, and stamp Dr Jenkins to death and left him – bloody, unconscious, and semi-naked – in the middle of the park before stealing his credit card and phone. They've now been locked up for a combined 84 years.
Timms-Williams and Edwards were seen kissing and embracing on CCTV moments after the attack in a sickening display of affection contrasting with the tortuous death Dr Jenkins had suffered at their hands. After leaving Edwards the teenager made her way to a garage to charge her phone and stayed the night with a friend.
Read more: Faces of evil: Police release mugshots of homophobic killers
Following her arrest she sought to pin the blame on Edwards and Strickland by claiming she was scared of them and was forced to take part in the savage beating of Dr Jenkins. But audio footage taken from a cafe from inside the park revealed the opposite.
Timms-Williams could be heard on the footage shouting at Dr Jenkins: "Money... now". She also called him a "f****** pig, f****** d***" and was heard encouraging the others to hit the doctor as he lay defenceless on the floor. Following the attack she could be heard on the footage saying: "I needed that." Before the attack took place she was heard saying: "If we're staying in f****** Bute Park can we at least go and steal."
Not much was known about Timms-Williams during the trial and she was granted anonymity by the court during the proceedings but upon her convictions of murder the reporting restriction was removed following representations by WalesOnline and other media outlets, which you can see more about here. The teenager was sentenced to life detention with a minimum of 18 years on Friday.
Timms-Williams, now 17, lived at Castle Close, Creigiau, with her mother at the time of the murder. The court heard she had been referred to adult mental health services when she was 14 years old for feelings of overwhelming anxiety and anger. She was also believed to have borderline personality disorder and had a history of self-harm.
In mitigation her barrister Caroline Rees QC said: "She was young but despite that there was a catalogue of difference in her background that has led to vulnerability. She experienced trauma that has led to alcohol and drug dependency and a liability to exploitation in certain respects.
"We submit there's no evidence against her of homophobic intent. She herself had just emerged from a same-sex relationship and her conversation with [witness] Owain Hill about him being gay was not hostile or aggressive."
The court was also told Timms-Williams had a caution in 2019 for possession of a bladed article. She will initially serve her sentence in a young offenders' institute before being moved to an adult prison.
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