2014 Colchester murders

Serial killings of two people in Colchester, United KingdomNovember 2019 James Fairweather James Fairweather.jpg Photographic portrait of a white teenage boy with slicked-back brown hair. He is wearing a chequered white shirt and black, thick-framed glasses. He is sitting on a black leather settee in front of an orange wall. 1998 08 05 yeshttps://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/r-v-fairweather-sentencing-remarks-1.pdf Sentencing remarks, R v Fairweather, 29 April 2016 Schoolboy Two charges of murder Life imprisonment with minimum term of 27 years Found guilty Psychosis (claimed, rejected by court) Murder (2 counts) James Attfield Nahid Almanea 29 March and 17 June 2014 Castle Park and Salary Brook Trail, Colchester, Essex Random Two Knife 27 May 2015 On 29 March 2014, 33-year-old James Attfield, who had a brain injury, was stabbed to death in Colchester, Essex. Three months later, on 17 June, Nahid Almanea, a 31-year-old Saudi student of the University of Essex, was also stabbed and killed.James Attfield and Nahid Almanea deaths: Boy admits manslaughter https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-35385109 24 January 2016 BBC News 22 January 2016 Teenager James Fairweather was apprehended while planning a third murder in May 2015, and in January 2016 he pleaded responsible for both deaths. In April 2016, he was found guilty of both murders and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 27 years.Ripper-obsessed James Fairweather detained for double murder https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-36172473 29 April 2016 BBC Sport 29 April 2016 Perpetrator James Fairweather was 15 years old when he committed his murders, and 17 at his conviction.Ripper-obsessed Colchester teen convicted of double murder https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-36101797 22 April 2016 BBC News 22 April 2016 He attended Colchester Academy. He was bullied for his prominent ears. He struggled at school, in part due to dyslexia, which was not diagnosed until he was detained. In 2012, he was badly affected by the death of his grandmother. Fairweather was convicted of knifepoint robbery of cigars in January 2014, and sentenced to a year's supervision. He was also convicted of criminal damage of a house in 2013.Cawley Laurence James Attfield and Nahid Almanea murders: The schoolboy killer https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-32956947 22 April 2016 BBC News 22 April 2016 Murders Attfield was a father of five who 'had suffered a head injury after a car crash a few years before he was killed.'James Attfield death: Teen re-arrested in Colchester murder probe https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-28769233 27 January 2021 BBC News 6 January 2015 He was lying on the grass at Castle Park after drinking, when he was attacked by Fairweather. He was found bleeding to death by paramedics, who could not save his life. The violence committed towards him with over a hundred stab wounds startled the police, and the BBC decided that the details were too "gruesome to describe". In court, Fairweather said that voices had chosen Attfield to be his victim, and the voices began to laugh as he stabbed him. Attfield had defensive wounds on his arms and hands, indicating that he was conscious enough to attempt to fight off Fairweather.Cornell Adam LIVE: Judge at the Old Bailey sentences James Fairweather, 17, of Thorpe Walk, Colchester for the murders of James Attfield and Nahid Almanea in Colchester. Sentenced to minimum 27 years. https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/14461271.live-judge-at-the-old-bailey-sentences-james-fairweather-17-of-thorpe-walk-colchester-for-the-murders-of-james-attfield-and-nahid-almanea-in-colchester-sentenced-to-minimum-27-years/ 27 January 2021 Gazette & Essex County Standard 29 April 2016 Almanea was killed in overgrowth on Salary Brook Trail near her home. Fairweather stabbed her in the abdomen before forcing the knife into her eyes and ultimately her brain, so that she could not "see evil". Legal proceedings Initial investigation Essex Police questioned 70 locals with a history of knife crime, including Fairweather, who gave an alibi and was not questioned further. 2015 January, more than 900 potential witnesses had been interviewed.https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-31035335 BBC News – Key witness sought by police in Nahid Almanea murder probe BBC Staff 31 January 2015 BBC Online 11 February 2015 Nine people from various towns in East Anglia were arrested and bailed by officers investigating Attfield's murder. Det Supt Hawkings, Head of Major Crimes for Essex Police called the attack "brazen" for occurring in a public space where passersby were likely.Duggan Oliver Essex PhD student 'murdered for being Muslim', police fear https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/10910903/Essex-PhD-student-murdered-for-being-Muslim-police-fear.html 19 Jun 2014 The Telegraph Police said that despite no firm evidence, one line of enquiry in the murder of Almanea was a possible hate crime.Paul Peachey Saudi student may have been murdered because she was wearing a hijab https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/saudi-student-may-have-been-murdered-because-she-was-wearing-a-hijab-9547153.html https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/saudi-student-may-have-been-murdered-because-she-was-wearing-a-hijab-9547153.html 1 May 2022 subscription 21 June 2014 The Independent 20 June 2014https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jun/18/woman-killed-footpath-attack-muslim-dress-colchester Woman killed in footpath attack 'may have been targeted for Muslim dress' Josh Halliday The Guardian During the trial, by which time it was known that Almanea and Attfield were killed by the same person, it was announced that both had been selected randomly. Premature assumptions that it was a hate crime led the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) to threaten revenge attacks, using the Twitter hashtag #Colchester.Kendall Ben Isis revenge threat over murder of Saudi student Nahid Almanea https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/isis-revenge-threat-over-murder-of-saudi-student-nahid-almanea-9550050.html https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/isis-revenge-threat-over-murder-of-saudi-student-nahid-almanea-9550050.html 1 May 2022 subscription 22 April 2016 The Independent 19 June 2014 The fact that Almanea and Attfield were unconnected people, and had been killed at different times of the day, led to a line of investigation that there could have been two separate killers. Fewer people went out in Colchester in public, and overgrowth was cleared to remove hiding places. Arrest and investigation of Fairweather Fairweather did not attempt another murder for almost a year because the public were wary of the danger: on 27 May 2015 he was spotted loitering early in the morning by a concerned dogwalker. The police were called and interviewed Fairweather, who was wearing rubber-gripped gloves and bearing a knife. He was arrested. In August 2015, he told a psychiatrist some of the "most anti-social and violent thoughts" the professional had heard, saying that voices were telling him to burn babies and maim prostitutes. Searches of Fairweather's possessions included documentaries about serial killers such as the Yorkshire Ripper, but prosecutor Paul Scothern clarified that not all people with such interests are intent on imitating the killers. Trial and sentencing At the Old Bailey, the following January, his name not disclosed to the public for reasons of age, he denied two charges of murder and possessing an illegal weapon, but admitted to two charges of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. Fairweather claimed to have psychosis, which was not found by a court psychiatrist.Serial killer-obsessed schoolboy jailed for 27 years after murdering two strangers http://metro.co.uk/2016/04/29/serial-killer-obsessed-schoolboy-jailed-for-27-years-after-murdering-two-strangers-5849531/ 12 February 2017 ITV News 29 April 2016 Fairweather was found unanimously guilty by the jury on 22 April 2016, and was to be sentenced a week later, with Judge Robin Spencer, QC, saying that the minimum sentence would be 12 years. After the conviction, Attfield's mother Julie decried Fairweather as a "monster", condemning his cruelty to her son. On 29 April 2016, Fairweather was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 27 years. Fairweather tried to appeal the sentence in September on the grounds of his age, but this was rejected as it was deemed that the judge was aware of both his age and the abnormality of his mental function.https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/sep/28/teenager-james-fairweather-loses-appeal-sentence-essex-knife-murders Teenager loses appeal over 27-year sentence for Essex knife murders 28 September 2016 The Guardian Documentaries The murders were the subject of an episode of Teens Who Kill on CBS Reality in March 2017.Lodge Will Case of Colchester double murderer James Fairweather subject of new TV documentary 'Teens Who Kill' on CBS Reality on Sunday, March 19 https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/case-of-colchester-double-murderer-james-fairweather-subject-of-new-2327950 27 January 2021 East Anglia Daily Times 10 March 2017 It was covered in October 2017 on an episode of Jo Frost on Britain's Killer Kids.October 15, 2017 Jo Frost on Britain's Killer Kids- James Fairweather (TV Episode 2017) Documentary IMDb https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8076932/ In May 2019, the case was covered by Britain's Deadliest Kids on Quest Red, with interviews from relatives, lawyers, the police, councillors and journalists.Creed Rebecca TV show on teenage double murderer James Fairweather to air tonight https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/17660884.tv-show-teenage-double-murderer-james-fairweather-air-tonight/ 27 January 2021 Gazette & Essex County Standard 25 May 2019 On 4 July 2022, the case was the subject of an episode of The Real Manhunter on the Sky Crime channel.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt20252450/?ref_=ttep_ep4 downloaded 10 June 2023 References Category:2014 murders in the United Kingdom Category:2010s in Essex Category:History of Colchester Category:March 2014 crimes in Europe Category:March 2014 in the United Kingdom Category:June 2014 crimes in Europe Category:June 2014 in the United Kingdom Category:Murder committed by minors Category:Murder in Essex Category:Serial murders in the United Kingdom