Father and son lose murder conviction appeal bids

A father and son who murdered a thief who had been trying to open car doors near their home have lost bids to appeal against their convictions.

David and Edward King were jailed for life for the murder of Neil Charles who was attacked in June 2021 in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

The pair sought to challenge their convictions, claiming they were unsafe, with a Court of Appeal hearing taking place earlier this month. However, three senior judges dismissed the bids in a ruling delivered on Thursday.

Lord Justice Warby, sitting with Mr Justice Goose and Judge Dennis Watson KC, said they were "satisfied" the convictions were "not arguably unsafe".

Mr Charles, 47, was stabbed with a dagger and died in hospital days later.

David King was jailed for a minimum of 21 years and Edward King sentenced to at least 19 years behind bars, following a trial at Ipswich Crown Court in 2022.

In their judgment, Lord Justice Warby said on the night of the murder, David and Edward King twice left their home in Radnor Close to search for someone they had seen trying to open car doors, including those on a vehicle they owned, before they found and attacked Mr Charles.

Edward King, who was 20 at the time of sentencing in 2023, sliced Mr Charles' knee with a 27-inch Samurai sword, and David King, aged 56 at the time of sentence, stabbed Mr Charles in the chest with a dagger.

At a hearing at the Court of Appeal on 2 May, Kieran Vaughan KC, for both men, said the convictions were unsafe due to "bad character" evidence wrongly being admitted at trial.

Lord Justice Warby said this included text messages between Edward and David King, which "expressed hostility and violent thoughts towards thieves and burglars", and that "numerous knives and other weapons had been acquired and kept at the family home", including machetes.

In the ruling, the judge said the evidence "was capable of demonstrating an obsessive and unhealthy interest in weapons", and dismissed the appeal bids.

Edward King also sought to challenge the length of his sentence, with Mr Vaughan arguing that his "age and lack of maturity" were not properly taken into account, and that he played a "secondary role" in the killing.

But this appeal bid was also dismissed, with Lord Justice Warby stating that the sentencing judge had not "arguably erred".

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