Cornwall might be one of the safest places to live in the country but it has its fair share of sick, violent and depraved criminals. Many of them pass through the dock at Truro Crown Court on their way to seriously long jail sentences.
The criminals serving the longest sentences include murderers and sexual offenders who have committed the worst crimes. Some will never come out alive due to their age while others will be released in years or decades to come.
The longest sentence a court can impose is life in jail. In these cases, the judge is also expected to set a minimum term that must be served at His Majesty's pleasure before the parole board considers release. This is a list of defendants given the longest sentences in recent years.
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Shaun Antony Quinn and Simon John Mitchell
Twelve years and ten years respectively
A gang of county lines dealers who posted almost 50kg of Class A drugs to Cornwall from Liverpool using the post have been jailed for a total of 47 years with Shaun Antony Quinn being hit with the largest sentence.
Shaun Antony Quinn, 37, of Greenhill Road, Allerton, Merseyside faced charges of supplying heroin and a separate charge relating to the supply of cocaine between August 2021 and July 2023.
All five of the gang were arrested last July as part of a joint operation between Devon and Cornwall Police and Merseyside Police into drug trafficking. The two forces executed a number of warrants as part of a joint investigation into county lines drug supply. The police probe, codenamed Operation Modular, was launched by Merseyside Police's specialist county lines unit, Project Medusa, to tackle drug dealing and child criminal exploitation.
During a sentencing hearing at Truro Crown Court in March, it was heard that some 47kg of heroin was posted from the Liverpool area to Cornwall and Devon in recorded delivery parcels using Royal Mail, while 100 packages containing cash were sent back to Liverpool again through the post. The court was told the drugs were estimated to have a street value of between £1m and £2m. Devon and Cornwall Police put the value at £4m being posted back to Merseyside.
Judge Carr said Quinn had played a leading role in the conspiracy albeit at the bottom end of the leading role scale. In Quinn's defence, it was heard that his role had not been as significant as claimed as he had only joined the conspiracy half way through, and he was just 'the cut out' or middle man between those who gave him messages higher up the food chain in Liverpool and those in Cornwall. His solicitor said he had been involved because of a gambling habit which Judge Carr said was not a habit but a known way for drug dealers to launder drug money.
Quinn was sentenced to a total of 12 years in prison. Simon John Mitchell, 34, of Lower Fore Street, Saltash was banged up for ten years. The court heard how police launched an investigation when they were alerted to goings on at Mitchell's address with parcels being sent to him in the Plymouth area as well as Kingsbridge, Salcombe, Callington, Looe and later Saltash. You can read the full story, here.
Sean Walker
Ten years
A rapist left his victim feeling repulsed, dirty and weak after attacking her and preventing her from leaving the scene. Sean Walker, 28, stopped her from taking her insulin injection, saying he was willing to watch her die.
Walker, from Penmorvah Road in Truro, appeared at Truro Crown Court for sentence in July 2023 after being convicted by a jury of false imprisonment and rape.
During the trial, prosecutor Rowan Jenkins told the jury how on the night in question in 2019, Walker was drunk and attacked the victim, holding her against her will, restraining her, covering her face and then proceeding to rape her. She was diabetic and at one point told Walker she needed to take an injection but he said no, and that he was prepared to watch her die.
Walker, during the prolonged ordeal, took a drink and poured it over the victim before preventing her from leaving and forcing her to urinate at the scene of the attack. She wanted to get out alive so gave in to Walker without fighting or screaming before finally getting out.
In a moving victim impact statement the victim bravely read to the court, she said: "The attack was prolonged and the worst night of my life. The humiliation has had a long-lasting effect on my day-to-day life. It took away parts of me I'll never get back.
"I've felt shame, repulsed, dirty and weak and I find it hard to recognise myself. I've found it hard to trust and am suspicious of people close to me.
"My outgoing, carefree personality was stolen from me and this has had a catastrophic effect on my life. I suffer hypervigilance in public and am always looking over my shoulder.
"My work has also been affected and I find it difficult to meet clients in the community. I suffer panic attacks, nightmares and flashbacks and loud noises are a trigger."
In a second statement, she spoke of having to show strength to start rebuilding her life and has since graduated from university with a first.
Representing Walker, Jason Beal said that his client was now in a steady and happy relationship, had become a father and stopped drinking entirely and thus stopped offending given that his previous convictions were mostly related to alcohol.
Sentencing Walker, recorder James Bromige said that the attack was designed to "assert dominance" and humiliate the victim. He described it as "inescapable sexual violence" before noting the devastating effect on the victim, even if she has shown signs of making a recovery. Taking into account Walker's mitigation, Recorder Bromige jailed him for 10 years and 10 months, of which he must serve two-thirds.
Tristan Jenkin
Ten years
An 11-year-old girl says she hates her life after being abused by a Redruth paedophile. Tristan Jenkin, 38 at the time of sentencing, recorded his abuse of the victim so he could later relive it.
Jenkin, from Pengover Parc in Redruth, appeared at Truro Crown Court for sentence in December 2023 having pleaded guilty to causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and taking an indecent photograph of a child.
Prosecuting the case, Heather Hope told the court how the victim had just had her 11th birthday and told police how on numerous occasions Jenkin got her to masturbate him. During her interview, the victim said that she never wanted to do it, and would watch TikTok while she was made to do it. She added that it happened "lots of times".
Jenkin's phone was examined and found to contain three recordings of the abuse. Reading a victim impact statement on behalf of the girl, Miss Hope said: "I am now scared when I go near men and boys and am scared when I go out as I'm scared I'll see him.
"I get mad and break things in anger when I don't need to. I hate my life because of what he did. He's a horrible man and I hope he has not done this to other girls."
In mitigation, Jason Beal said that Jenkin has no previous convictions and held his hands up to what he did when the majority of others take it to trial. Jenkin is said to have lost his job and home and made a number of suicide attempts as his mental health has plummeted.
Sentencing Jenkin, Judge Simon Carr said the case involved "serious sexual abuse against a very young child". He said: "Let me make this clear you did this because you are sexually attracted to children and you recorded it so you could continue to watch it and masturbate over it.
"The effect on the victim has been devastating and the damage you've done will be with her for the rest of her life." Jenkin was jailed for 10 years and must sign the sex offenders' register for life. A restraining order was also put in place.
Frankie Mann
12 years
An evil sexual predator raped a woman after she had been on a night out before chillingly approaching police hours later and saying he had witnessed another man carry out the attack. Frankie Mann, 27, approached the officers at the police cordon in the hours following the attack he had carried out.
Mann, of Bridge Road, St Austell, appeared at Truro Crown Court for sentence after pleading guilty to rape at an earlier hearing. The sentencing comes following an investigation by Newquay CID whose fast-track enquiries led them to arrest Mann just 12 hours after the incident.
The court heard how on the evening of May 28 the victim had been on a night out with friends in St Austell town centre before heading home. She noticed that she was missing her house keys so headed back into town when she was approached by a man on a motorbike.
The man offered to help find her keys, putting his jacket around her while he carried on riding up and down the road, staying close to where the victim was. CCTV footage was recovered by detectives which showed the victim walking along Alexandra Road in the early hours of May 29. Mann is also seen riding up and down the road, staying close to the victim. Mann is then seen waiting for her at the end of the road.
Whilst still on Alexandra Road, Mann pulled the victim to the ground and raped her – despite her repeated pleas not to. During the attack Mann put his hand over the victim's mouth, saying "ssh, it'll be alright". The victim describes feeling lifeless and worthless, frozen with fear. After committing the rape, Mann told the victim that he had somewhere to be and left the scene. Prosecuting barrister Heather Hope said that the victim went home and cried.
The victim then attended the local police station later that morning to report that she had been raped. An investigation was launched and specially trained officers were deployed to support the victim. Detectives carried out immediate enquiries as they pieced together and linked several other reports they had received that day.
Following extensive fast-track enquiries, detectives arrested and charged Mann later that day. In an emotive victim impact statement read in court, the victim says that the night "killed her inside" but that it has made her stronger and she encouraged other victims to speak out.
As a result of Mann's actions, the victim suffered panic attacks, couldn't eat and sleep, was unable to leave her home and had to be put on medication and see mental health teams. She added that she is "constantly looking over her shoulder" and found herself in the hell of "a nightmare she couldn't get out of".
You can read the full story, here.
Nathan Hastings
13 years
A convicted paedophile groomed a child in Cornwall online before travelling hundreds of miles to have sex with him in hotel rooms. Nathan Hastings, 32, made the 14-year-old believe they were engaged and going to live together in Beverly Hills.
Hastings, from the northwest of the country, appeared at Truro Crown Court for sentence having pleaded guilty to numerous charges of meeting a child following sexual grooming, sexual activity with a child and breach of a sexual harm prevention order.
At the sentencing hearing in November, the court heard how in 2017 Hastings was jailed in Manchester for grooming a young boy via online gaming before sexually assaulting him.
Prosecuting the case, Heather Hope told the court how Hastings was released in 2020 and made subject of a sexual harm prevention order stopping him from contacting young people and accessing the internet.
Despite the order, Hastings contacted the victim on the Walkie Talkie app. They spoke every day, with Hastings saying he was 23. Initially, the victim said he was 19, but he soon admitted being 14. They also used the Twitch platform and Hastings watched the victim play games.
Miss Hope said: "The defendant was able to groom the victim. He told him that he loved him and the messages were continuous."
Hastings would request the victim called him and asked him to send pictures and videos. In August 2021 Hastings asked the victim to marry him, the victim agreed, and they referred to each other as husbands.
Hastings promised the boy a home in Beverly Hills with a pool and would become threatening and manipulative if he didn't reply in a timely manner.
In September/October 2021 things became even more sinister. Hastings visited west Cornwall to meet the boy and they engaged in hugging, kissing and sex. After this encounter the victim tried to break off communications but Hastings continued to manipulate the boy into continuing the relationship.
The defendant continued to make long trips to Cornwall to visit and have sex with the victim, on each occasion booking into local hotel rooms, sometimes under false names. Hastings would give the boy a cover story and tell hotel staff that he was his little brother who had mental health problems causing him to follow him "like a sheep".
On one occasion the victim said no to sex with Hastings, but he proceeded to do it anyway. The matters eventually came to light when the victim's sister, who was working in one of the hotels, saw him in there. When she wasn't satisfied with his excuse for being present, she checked the hotel room to find him hiding in the bathroom scared.
Despite being caught, Hastings continued to contact the victim asking for updates on the police investigation and telling him not to say anything. Hastings was eventually arrested and a SIM card was found, revealing much of their conversations.
Defending Hastings, Emily Pitts said: "He is very frank and open about his behaviour and accepts he deserves to be punished for what he did. He had a difficult childhood and struggles with mental health issues.
Terence Burke
18 years
An assistant headteacher who was also the head of safeguarding in a school in Cornwall is behind bars after being jailed for having sex with vulnerable pupils. Terence Burke, 75 at the time he was sentenced, used his position at Falmouth School where he worked for 30 years to groom vulnerable students and went on to have sexual relationships with them.
Burke, now of Swindon, appeared for sentence at Truro Crown Court in July 2023 having been convicted at trial of five indecent assaults, four charges of indecency with a child, indecency with a child, two charges of sexual activity with a child, three charges of sexual activity with a child by a person of trust, and two charges of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity by a person in a position of trust.
The court heard that during that time he devastated the lives of his young victims who believed they were in secret relationships with him. During the trial, prosecuting barrister Emily Pitts told the jury that married man Burke targeted two girls who were pupils at the school at the time, as CornwallLive reports.
Ms Pitts described how Burke first of all helped them with their studies, before pushing boundaries and making the relationships intimate. He would meet the teenage girls out of school and have sex with them in hotels, on occasions his house and in the back of his car in lay-bys around Cornwall. The sex acts took place regularly.
To facilitate the abuse Burke showered them with messages, money and expensive gifts. He gave them affectionate nicknames and even sent one lyrics to a song by Wyclef Jean which could be interpreted as being about a secret relationship.
One relationship continued for four years after the victim left school. In both cases, Burke groomed and had sexual contact with the girls before their 16th birthday. In one instance sex took place before that age.
At the sentencing hearing the court was read two devastating victim impact statements. The first victim said: "When I was a child at school I believed I was in a relationship with him. I thought I loved him, he loved me and I was the only one.
"He always pressed on me it was our secret and I would have done anything to protect him. It didn't occur to me that the feeling weren't real and looking back I can see he took advantage of my vulnerability and stole my childhood."
The woman, now in her 30s, said that Burke spoke to her of committing the perfect murder, something she now can see was a plot to intimidate her to keep quiet. She added that she lives in fear that he will take revenge, and is looking over her shoulder all the time.
She described her emotions as a complete mess and the court process being like an old wound being ripped open.
The second victim recalled looking forward to going to Falmouth School, unaware a lifelong nightmare was about to begin. She spoke of eating chocolate and drinking hot chocolate in Burke's office after being taken out of lessons and him spending money on her and picking her up in his car.
She continued: "I have always lacked confidence and relied on alcohol to deal with social situations. I cancel plans at the last minute due to anxiety and struggle to maintain relationships.
"I made an attempt on my own life in 2014 and first overdosed in 2007 because I wanted peace and to escape from the mess my life was. I struggle with intimacy as it takes me back to memories of Terry Burke and his hands on me and it makes my skin crawl."
The victim says small things like chocolate give her horrendous flashbacks and she panics as soon as she sees someone who looks like Burke. She also added that she couldn't put her son in Falmouth School even though it was his preference.
She added: "I have become accustomed to keeping feelings locked away and struggle to open up. He taught me to hide things, taught me to feel numb and 20 years on this is still how I feel. This man has haunted me daily through memory, smells, tastes and I feel like I'm on a prison that's been created. He took my innocence, took my virginity and ruined me, this man was in total control of me and I didn't know it."
Representing Burke, Neil Perry said: "It's a sad reality a man who has done such bad and harm has done a lot of good as well." Mr Perry spoke of Burke's arthritis and his slow-spreading cancer.
Graham Cox
18 years
A disturbed sex offender recently released from prison forced his way into the house of a pensioner and tried to rape her in order to get sent back to prison. Graham Cox was living in a tent but told police he preferred being in prison as he was warm, fed and had a TV in his room.
Cox, 59, of no fixed abode, appeared at Truro Crown Court for sentence having pleaded guilty to attempted rape, assault by penetration, threats to kill and failure to comply with sex offender notification requirements.
Prosecuting the case, Joss Ticehurst described how Cox was released from prison on September 19, 2021, having served a full 39-month sentence for a sex attack on a friend who was trying to help him.
On release, he was living in a tent next to Morrisons in Liskeard and one day bumped into someone he knew, a friend of the victim. Cox and the woman discussed his living predicament and she told him her friend, the 89-year-old victim in this case, was looking for a lodger.
Cox was taken to the victim’s home and shown around and it was agreed he’d return in a few days as he had to go to Bristol.
Mr Ticehurst said: “The defendant returned a day earlier than expected and knocked on the door. The victim said she had not expected to see him so soon and Cox then forced her to the floor, turned her over, pulled her trousers down and pushed his fingers inside her.” Mr Ticehurst proceeded to describe in detail how Cox tried to rape her but only failed as he could not get an erection.
During the ordeal, Cox threatened to rape her over and over and threatened to kill her if she did not go upstairs. When he went to lock the door, the victim made a movement towards the window in a bid to summon help.
At this point the defendant grabbed her and put duct tape - which was later found in his tent - around her mouth but she bit him and made it to the window where she screamed for help.
A neighbour saw a man appear behind the victim, put his hand over her mouth and pull her back. Cox was also seen doing up his trousers and the neighbour was able to take a picture of him as he left, which was then handed to police and used to identify Cox, who was arrested at his tent.
Mr Ticehurst said: “En route to the police station the defendant said he was an A1 prisoner and was a threat to society. He said he did what he did to get back to prison because he couldn’t find a job, it was cold and wet in his tent but in prison it was warm, he had warm food and a TV in his room.
“He said it wasn’t a planned act but he saw it as a way to get back to prison.” Representing Cox, Jason Beal said he admitted his offences in interview and that there were factors indicating a personality disorder.
Sentencing Cox, Judge Simon Carr said the circumstances were “truly disturbing”. He said: “In 2018 you carried out a serious sexual assault on a friend simply trying to help.
"You were given a 39-month sentence and as a result of your failure to comply with licencing conditions before being released you were rendered homeless and living in a tent. Your reaction almost defies belief. In order to secure a return to prison, an environment you preferred to a tent, you committed these offences.”
Judge Carr then moved onto the specifics of the offending, saying Cox had bought the duct tape for one reason, to subdue the vulnerable victim.
He added: “She was an 89-year-old in poor health and you knew that as you’d met her. You knew the duct tape was to be used on an elderly woman in poor health for the reason to return to prison.
“You forced your way in and attacked her. You attempted to rape her on her own living room floor and only failed because you couldn’t get an erection.
“Her bravery was extraordinary and she found the strength to get up, go to the window and scream for help. You have taken the last few years of her life away from her. She was a confident, independent person who has now withdrawn into her shell. You caused that.
“You have now shown a single glimmer of remorse and see yourself in some perverse way as being a victim. You have convinced yourself it is something you had to do.”
Cox, who Judge Carr said presents a significant risk to women, was given an 18-year extended sentence consisting of 12 years custodial and six on licence. He must sign the sex offenders’ register for life.
Steven Bielby
20 years
A paedophile rapist who raped a girl in the back of his delivery van has been given a huge sentence. Steven Bielby, 68 at the time of his sentencing, also met the young victim from school to rape and abuse her.
Bielby, of Woodfield Road in Bude, appeared at Truro Crown Court in July 2023 to be sentenced after pleading guilty to four rape charges and indecency with a child, but only after going on the run before entering guilty pleas.
Bielby fled Cornwall before he was due to stand trial, but was pinged by an automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) camera near Swindon and brought back to Cornwall when he eventually held his hands up to what he did.
Prosecuting the case, Jason Beal told the court how the offences took place more than 30 years ago. Bielby groomed the young girl by buying her presents and began sexually abusing her from the age of 13.
Mr Beal explained that Bielby was employed as a fruit and veg driver and would take her on journeys before raping her in the back and dropping her off. She attempted to deter him by saying she was worried somebody would see them but he carried on regardless.
This abuse took place on numerous occasions and Bielby also met the young victim from school to rape and abuse her at other locations. Mr Beal said: "She didn't fight it because it was so routine." He added that he encouraged his victim to shave her public hair and also steal condoms from shops.
In a victim impact statement, the victim said she was denied a proper education as a result of the abuse and had few friends. She suffered a breakdown and was put on anti-psychotic medication. Representing Bielby, Rupert Taylor said that his client has health issues, is unwell and doesn't seek to minimise his actions.
Sentencing, Judge Simon Carr said: "This was systematic and long-term rape. You chose to groom and prepare her for the sex acts that followed. She could never protect herself or find anyone to go to protect her. You treated her as something that was disposable."
Addressing Bielby absconding, Judge Carr said it was "simple cowardice" and Bielby couldn't face up to what he had done. Bielby was jailed for 20 years.
Cameron Dancey-Stevenson
Life with a minimum of 18 years
The family of a woman brutally stabbed to death by her own grandson said she did more to help him over the years than anybody else. Alison Stevenson, 62, died at the hands of Cameron Dancey-Stevenson, 27, in May 2021 at her home in Meneage Road, Helston.
At Dancey-Stevenson's sentencing hearing his family told him they would never be able to forgive him for his actions. Dancey-Stevenson, from Helston but who has for some time resided at Langon Psychiatric Hospital in Dawlish, denied killing his grandmother at her house overnight between May 24 and 25, 2021. He was convicted at Exeter Crown Court on Tuesday by a jury following a very brief period of deliberation and today (Wednesday, August 30) given a life sentence with a minimum of 18 years behind bars. The case was meant to be heard at Truro Crown Court but was moved due to maintenance work at Truro.
Ms Stevenson was killed by her grandson while he was the subject of a restraining order preventing him from contacting her or going to her property which he had already breached and was awaiting sentencing for. Dancey-Stevenson had made threats towards his grandmother during a call with his dad as he was mad she had given a statement to police. Despite the restraining order Ms Stevenson continued to try to help her grandson, such was her care towards him.
On the night of the murder Dancey-Stevenson broke into his grandmother's house overnight through an insecure window and stabbed her frantically in her own bed. He then fled before later being arrested after a time sleeping rough in a tent in the woods, where he had stayed on and off for months.
During the opening, prosecuting barrister Tahir Khan, KC, told the jury that Dancey-Stevenson had made threats to his grandmother before and was said to be angry she had given a statement to the police. After her death, Dancey-Stevenson's DNA was found on the washing machine and tumble drier, his fingerprints were found under the bannister of the stairs, and his footprint was found in blood near Ms Stevenson's bedroom. A knife was found in the sink with Ms Stevenson's blood on it.
Dancey-Stevenson claimed he was in the house at the time but that somebody else broke in and killed Ms Stevenson. Mr Khan pointed out that nothing was stolen and no DNA of anybody else was found in the house or nearby. He added that if this was true Dancey-Stevenson would have had plenty of time to call the police. He entered through an insecure kitchen window that only family members knew about.
At the sentencing hearing a statement was read on behalf of Marina Stevenson, Ms Stevenson's daughter and Dancey-Stevenson's aunt, who spoke on behalf of the whole family. She said: "My grandfather is having to cope with the loss of his daughter, not by illness but in such a cruel way when he should be living his later years peacefully. The brutality of the attack shocked him and all of us to the core.
"She (Alison) loved cooking, gardening and her family. Nothing was too much trouble and she would help anyone. She was always trying to make life better for those she came into contact with.
"She did all she could to make life better for you but before her death she was living in fear of you. You are selfish and felt your entire family was against you but never looked at all the things that were done for you and the love that was shown."
Lee Kendall
Life with a minimum of 21 years
Michaela Hall, 49, died at her home in Charlotte Close, Mount Hawke, near Truro, in May 2021 after being stabbed in the eye by her abusive partner Lee Kendall who had been previously convicted for domestic violence. Kendall, 43, has been on trial at Truro Crown Court charged with murder and was convicted by a jury in 2022.
Ms Hall met Kendall, a heavy drug and alcohol user, while working as a support officer for prisoners nearing the end of their sentences and the two had entered a sexual relationship, resulting in Ms Hall leaving her job.
During the trial opening, the court heard how there were numerous reports of domestic violence by Kendall towards Ms Hall, but only one incident resulting in a conviction due to her refusing to make a statement.
On the night of Ms Hall’s death, neighbours and friends Ms Hall had spoken to on the phone reported hearing rowing between the two and then things suddenly going quiet. Kendall had taken exception to Ms Hall speaking about him on the phone, and believing she’d "slagged him off", attacked her with a knife.
After concerns were made for Ms Hall’s welfare police officers visited the property on three separate occasions but didn’t enter after concluding there were no signs of a disturbance and nobody inside.
However, Ms Hall’s lifeless body remained in a bedroom for 24 hours until it was found by her father who was so concerned he picked up a set of spare keys from Ms Hall’s landlord.
Ms Hall died after being stabbed in the eye with a knife, the blade reaching her brain and piercing an artery causing a bleed to the brain. Kendall failed to call an ambulance and instead attempted to cover his tracks before going to Truro where stole alcohol, argued with homeless men and was eventually arrested on suspicion of murder.
Ms Hall was a popular mum-of-two who worked as an air stewardess before working with prisoners and then finally, as a RNLI fundraiser. Following the guilty verdict, an emotional statement was read from Ms Hall’s mother, Anne Hall.
Mrs Hall said: “Michaela was killed in her own home. She was my first child. Beautiful, polite and very bright. She was kind, had common sense and was very organised.
“She loved anything that sparkled and was brave, trusting and confident. Everyone who met her would remember her eyes.
“I cannot look at photos without visualising what he did to her. It was so depraved and cruel. I try to remember her as the little girl at home with her family."
Sentencing Kendall, The Honourable Justice Garnham said: “At about 10pm on May 31 you were sat drinking in the sitting room of your partner’s home. You had taken heroin and were drinking industrial quantities of cheap wine. You heard your partner talking on the phone in the smaller of the two bedrooms – we now know she was talking to her friend Clair Basnett.
“You probably didn’t know who she was speaking to but heard what Michaela was saying. You formed the view she was, in your words, slagging you off and you couldn’t tolerate that.
“Despite the fact Michaela had shown you every kindness over the two years of your relationship and put up with your idleness, drug taking and violence, you picked up a kitchen knife with a sharp 9cm blade and went through to the bedroom.
“I find there was no struggle and Michaela didn’t challenge you. You grabbed her around the throat with one hand and thrust the knife into her eye with the other.”
Justice Garnham then described how Ms Hall’s sparkling eyes were one of her most attractive features, yet he chose to regularly beat them black and blue. He added: “She died on the floor of the bedroom where you left her. You didn’t call an ambulance or provide help. Instead you went back to watching TV and drinking wine.
“The next day you went about your business as normal and went to Truro to get drugs. It was left to her dad to find her body lying on the bedroom floor. Listening to the victim impact statements nobody can fail to understand the utter devastation and anguish your actions have caused.”
Kendall’s minimum term was set at 21 years before he is eligible for parole. Her parents were praised by the judge for the dignity they showed during the trial and sentencing.
Danny Tippett
Life with a minimum of 23 years
A dad from Cornwall was jailed for more than 20 years after he raped and sexually assaulted two boys for years.
Danny Tippett, 29 at the time of sentencing in 2022, who lived near Camborne, was found guilty of 19 offences including rape of a child, sexual assault of a child, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, sexual activity with a child, twice causing a child to engage in sexual activity and making indecent photographs of children.
The serious abuse took place over a number of years until 2019 and in various locations including his flat, a leisure centre changing room and the back of his van. Tippett was arrested after the police were informed of his crimes in March 2020. He appeared at Truro Crown Court for sentence.
The court was read out victim statements from the families of both of Tippett's victims. They detailed how the lives of all involved were shattered when they found out about the abuse and how both boys have been struggling to sleep, focus, talk about what happened and trust certain people.
Both have expressed suicidal thoughts to their families. During the trial, it emerged that Tippett was touching the boys sexually, making them touch him and raping them.
Tippett denied any sexual touching took place, claiming the complainants "ganged up on him" by making the allegations. He said he enjoyed the company of the boys as he was childish, but claimed no crimes took place.
The offences came to light when one of the boys told his girlfriend. The girl then told her mum who got in touch with the complainant’s mum. Tippett told the boys “they’d get in trouble if it came out” and was also found to have indecent images on his phone.
Representing Tippett, Ramsay Quaife said that this will be Tippett's first time in jail and reminded the court of the impact it will have on his partner and children. Sentencing, Recorder Christopher Quinlan QC said Tippett bought the boys presents and gifts, showered them with affection and breached their trust. "Neither boy should feel guilt at all," he said.
"I recognise that this will be your first custodial sentence and I accept that it will have a crushing effect on you and your family. They are also victims, but not in the same league as these two young boys."
Tippett was jailed for 23 years with an extended licence of two years. A restraining order preventing him from contacting directly or indirectly the boys has also been put in place, without a time limit. Tippett is barred from working with children and will be added to the sex offenders list.
Paul Amoah
27 years
Paul Amoah was one of three men jailed for more than 43 years following a frenzied hammer and gun attack in Cornwall. Paul Amoah, 39 of Hawthorn Close, Redruth, was found guilty of attempted murder, wounding with intent, and aggravated burglary. He was sentenced to 27 years in prison.
The trio were convicted in January of this year at Truro Crown Court following a two-week trial. The court heard how on July 6 two of them broke into a property on Drump Road in Redruth armed with a Beretta handgun and a hammer.
All three men had been seen on CCTV travelling to the property in a car. Footage was played to the court which showed Smale standing on the road while both Amoah and Mitchell walked towards the property. Eight minutes later, Amoah, Mitchell, and Smale were seen scattering away from the house leaving two men seriously injured after having been shot and bludgeoned.
The victims, Jaroslavas Gavorskis and Terry Madden, who were known to the offenders, all resided in the property and had been at home when Amoah and Mitchell knocked on the back door. One of the occupants in the house could see a figure at the back door holding a gun and raised the alarm to the other occupants just as Amoah and Mitchell started breaking down the back door.
Once inside, Amoah and Mitchell, who were wearing balaclavas, set about their violent attack with Amoah shooting one of the victims in the back as he tried to flee. Mitchell chased down another victim as he ran upstairs by hitting him repeatedly over the head with a hammer. All the while Smale was outside acting as a lookout.
Upon hearing the commotion, a third victim barricaded himself in his room upstairs but sustained a cut to the head after one of the offenders tried to force his way into his room. The men then burgled the house taking hundreds of pounds and one of the victim’s passports.
Police were alerted by the ambulance service with reports that a man had been shot in the back. Armed response officers were deployed to the scene and a manhunt was underway.
As part of the investigation, Devon and Cornwall Police trawled through extensive CCTV footage and were able to close the net on the suspects. Smale was located and arrested in a field as he attempted to flee an address on Harmony Close, Redruth. Amoah was found a short time after hiding under a sofa at an address on Cardew Close. Mitchell was arrested the next day.
All were taken into custody, charged and remanded. Following searches inside the property on Harmony Close, a handgun was found wrapped in cloth in a children’s toy basket. DNA evidence on the gun proved to be Amoah’s. A hammer left behind at the crime scene was found to have Mitchell’s DNA evidence on it along with the victim’s blood.
You can read the full story, here.
Jake Hill
Life with minimum of 28 years
A nightclub reveller who went on a "knife rampage", murdering one man and injuring four others, was recently sentenced to a minimum of 28 years in prison. Jake Hill, 25, from Bodmin, stabbed five people in a matter of seconds outside the Eclipse nightclub with a serrated hunting knife.
He was sentenced to serve a minimum of 28 years before being eligible for parole, reduced to 27 years and 18 days in prison taking the time he has already been in custody into account. He will remain on licence for the rest of his life if released.
On Hill, High Court Judge the Honourable Mrs Justice Cutts said in her sentencing remarks: "You showed not a shred of remorse then and you have shown not a shred of remorse since. The long period for which you were giving evidence on your trial you showed no regret on your part."
The six-week trial, which concluded last month, heard how Mr Riddiough-Allen, who suffered a single "un-survivable" knife wound inflicted by Hill, was the fifth person to be stabbed in the "knife rampage". The much-loved rugby player was unarmed and had been trying to separate the various fighting groups when he was fatally injured.
On sentencing, Her Honour Mrs Justice Cutts rejected Jake Hill’s reasons for carrying the knife, saying that "experience shows that those who carry them are quick to use them", but that there is "no justifications for carrying a weapon in a public place".
She told Hill he had no reason to be carrying a knife, let alone one as dangerous as this one, and that he " liked the image of being a hardman" and showed not "one shred of remorse" and "absolutely no regret".
Michael Rowe
Sentenced to a hospital order until he no longer poses a risk of violence to others
A man stabbed his mother 100 times in a horrific frenzied attack at her own home during a drug-fuelled psychotic episode, a court heard. Michael Rowe, 36 at the time of sentencing, killed his mum, Bernadette Rosario, in her house in the quiet and peaceful village of Penwithick outside St Austell just as she opened the door to him on March 28 last year.
The savage and brutal killing of the much-loved woman known to her family and friends as Bernie, 61, shocked the small village at the time. Rowe, of no fixed abode, pleaded not guilty to one count of murder but guilty to another charge of manslaughter with diminished responsibility when he appeared before Truro Crown Court in November via video link from the secure psychiatric Langdon Hospital in Dawlish, Devon, where he has been remanded since his arrest in the spring.
Joanna Martin, KC, prosecuting, told the court how Rowe started having psychotic episodes from the age of 16, when he "would speak to people through his psychic powers", which he tried to self-medicate with the use of alcohol and illicit drugs including MDMA, magic mushrooms, cannabis and cocaine.
Mrs Martin described Rowe as having "a propension for violence" towards his own family for which he was detained under the Mental Health Act on several occasions. She said that repeatedly throughout his life he made threats to kill his own mother and even made stabbing motions at people with a knife during various incidents.
The court heard how even until the day of her horrific death Bernie always continued to support her son and tried to get him the psychological help and support he needed.
Rowe, who spent time in prison for criminal damage and assault, squared up to Bernie as he stayed in one of the homeless pods set up by Cornwall Council in Truro in 2021, and then, despite the threats and fear of violence, she continued to try to help him.
His episodes of violence directed at his mother crystallised into a serious incident some 18 months before her death, when, while out of prison, he turned up at the house she shared with her beloved partner Lorna Harvey and smashed his way in before grabbing a kitchen knife and threatening them.
In a statement to the police at the time, Bernie said she had been forced to "barricade herself indoors and sleep downstairs in case he would break in as he was a real threat to her and she feared for her own safety".
Mrs Martin told the court: "Bernadette felt torn between her own safety and what had happened to her son. But still she continued to support him and tried to help him stop drugs and seek treatment. She paid for his drug debts. But his behaviour was concerning and he made threats towards his own mother."
Describing Rowe's state of mental health, Mrs Martin said his sanity was declining at the beginning of 2023 and his paranoid persecution and delusions worsened, so much so that he described "having holes in his head" and being in a "brittle mood", even saying that his sister had been murdered when she was very much alive.
Five days before viciously killing his mother, Rowe turned up at her house and tried to punch her. Later he was described by other witnesses as being unstable, making threats to kill his mother saying he "would stab her heart and it will be a dirty, murky work". Judge Carr said the only sentencing option that would ensure public safety was to detain Rowe in a psychiatric unit under Sections 37-41 of the Mental Health Act until the Department for Justice deems him fit enough to be released. Judge Carr told Rowe: "Your release is a long way off, if it's even reached." You can read the full story, here.
