A drunken lout knifed a father to death in a completely random attack before going on the run.
Violent Ashley Keegan stabbed John Bell seven times following a street argument in which the victim told his killer to “calm down”.
The 22-year-old confessed to carrying the 27cm long kitchen blade on his person with one of the blows fatally puncturing the dad-of-one’s lung, giving paramedics little chance of saving him.
37-year-old Bell was found shortly after the violent attack slumped against a wall in a pool of his own blood, as Keegan fled the scene before police tracked him down to a nearby nature reserve.
The court heard how Keegan had a lengthy record of offending, and according to the judge being sent to jail was the only option for someone who posed such a danger to the public.
Carina Hughes, prosecuting, said the attack took place late on the night of July 20 this year on Golwg y Castell in the centre of Cardigan.
She said the defendant was staying with his girlfriend and her mother at an address on the street, and there was evidence that from early that day Keegan was in an intoxicated state.
During the course of the day Mr Bell arrived in the street to visit a friend who lived with his mother next to the property where Keegan was living, according to Wales Online.
Swansea Crown Court heard that on the evening of July 20 a drunk Keegan was seen in the street hitting a bush with a traffic cone, and then around 9pm was “rude and aggressive” to staff at the Premier Store on Priory Street.
At around 11.40pm a taxi was called and Mr Bell and his friend left the house where they had been socialising. Keegan was in the street and began shouting abuse, calling Mr Bell’s friend’s mother “a junkie”, a “smack-head” and “English”, and saying “This is my drive”.
The prosecutor said Keegan punched Mr Bell a number of times but the older man did not react, simply walking away down the hill. The defendant shouted “I don’t want to see you here again” to which Mr Bell replied by telling him to calm down. With that the defendant picked up a large kitchen knife and went after Mr Bell - when he caught up with his victim he repeatedly stabbed the man in the back.
Keegan then went back home and said: “I stabbed him.”
The court heard just before midnight police received a number of calls both about the incident on Golwg y Castell, and from members of the public who reported seeing a bleeding and injured man in Cardigan town centre. Officers found Mr Bell slumped against a wall near the Fusion restaurant in a pool of blood. Paramedics were soon on the scene but despite their best efforts he could not be saved, was pronounced dead at 1.22am.
A murder investigation was launched, and later that day police received information that a towel and a phone had been found at the nature reserve at Cilgerran on the outskirts of the town - officers went to the area and found Keegan. He told police: “I didn’t mean to do it. I didn’t mean to do it. I can’t get his face out of my head.”
The court heard that a post mortem examination of Mr Bell found seven stab wounds to his back, arm pit area, and hip. The stab to the hip had been forceful enough to crack the hip bone, while a stab wound to the right side of the back had punctured his chest cavity and lung, and had resulted in the loss of two-and-a-half litres of blood. There were no signs of any defensive wounds on his body.
A kitchen knife with a 25cm-long blade was subsequently recovered from near the scene of the stabbing - Mr Bell’s blood was found on the blade, and the defendant’s DNA was found on the handle.
In his police interviews Keegan said he carried a knife for his own protection. He said he had not wanted to kill Mr Bell, he had just wanted him to “go away”. Keegan said he had never met Mr Bell before the day in question.
In a victim impact statement from Mr Bell’s mother, Joyce, which was read to the court she said she cried every day and every night for her son, and “the pain that remains in my heart is a life sentence for me”. In her statement Mr Bell’s daughter said she would never again be able to go fishing with her dad or to ride her bike with him, and she said she wished he was here to give her a cuddle.
Keegan, of Golwg y Castell, Cardigan, Ceredigion, had previously pleaded guilty to murder when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.
John Hipkin QC, for Keegan, said a guilty plea in a murder case was a rarity, and was the only way a defendant could really exhibit his remorse.
Judge Geraint Walters said he had no doubt that when Keegan went after his victim with a knife and stabbed him in a “frenzied and ferocious attack”, he intended to kill his victim.
While the judge was summing up the case Keegan shouted from the dock “I’m not going to stick here and listen to his cr*p. F*** this”, and demanded to be taken down to the cells.
The judge continued in the defendant’s absence saying that by his actions Keegan had subjected Mr Bell’s family and friends to a lifetime of pain. Addressing the empty dock he said: “You are a dangerous individual and you will continue to be a danger to others for the foreseeable future.”
Keegan was given a life sentence, and must serve a minimum of 20 years in prison before he can apply release. Judge Walters said it would be up to the Parole Board to decide when, or if, he is released from custody.
Speaking after the hearing, Dyfed-Powys Police detective chief constable Gareth Roberts welcomed the sentence. He said: “Our thoughts are with John’s family at this time. The devastating impact of his tragic, unnecessary loss will be long lasting for this close-knit family.
“John’s family have been respectful and dignified throughout the criminal justice process and no outcome can compensate for their loss, but I hope some comfort will come from the imprisonment of a dangerous, violent offender that will not be able to harm others.
“Keegan’s actions on the evening of Tuesday, July 20, 2021 were brutal and cowardly. Neither Keegan nor John were previously known to each other and John’s death was an unnecessary act with no prior motive.
“Keegan was intoxicated with his behaviour deteriorating throughout that afternoon. John came to Golwg y Castell to visit a friend and an altercation instigated by Keegan occurred. John walked away from that altercation and Keegan chose to return to the garden of a premises within the estate and pick up a knife that had been left there.
“Keegan had an opportunity to walk away but chose to pursue John and in a cowardly act stabbed John Bell seven times to the back area. John was unlikely aware of Keegan’s presence and had no defence wounds.”
He added: “Our thanks must go to the brave witnesses who saw events and gave crucial information to identify Keegan as the offender and provide the evidence to ensure this successful prosecution. The investigative response was swift and effective, with a number of police resources mobilised to ensure that justice was served.”
