Terms of up to 36 years as six sentenced for killing Michael Gilbert, who was tortured before body was dumped in lake
Sam Jones
Six members of a "depraved" family who enslaved and tortured a vulnerable man for his benefit money before eventually killing him were jailed today.
The body of Michael Gilbert, who is thought to have died in January 2009 from the abuse inflicted on him by the Watt family, was discovered last May in the Blue Lagoon in Arlesey, Bedfordshire.
Gilbert's head, knee joints, forearm and elbow were missing, although his torso and some other body parts were present; his head was not discovered until February this year.
Three of the family were today given life sentences for murder, including James Watt, 27, who was told he must serve a minimum of 36 years.
The jury at Luton crown court was told Gilbert, 26, who had met James Watt at a children's home when they were 15, was treated as a slave by the family. Police said he had been "adopted" by them many years before his death and regularly assaulted for his benefit money.
The court heard he was hit with bats, shot, stabbed and made to walk around the house in only his boxer shorts. On one occasion he was made to goad a large pet lizard until it attacked him with its tail.
A diary kept by Watt's girlfriend, Natasha Oldfield, included plans for a game show where contestants would pay £5 to slap him and £25 to headbutt him.
Although Gilbert escaped several times, James Watt managed to trace him through his national insurance number and force him back.
Today, James Watt, 27, of Luton, Bedfordshire, was jailed for life for murder, along with Oldfield, 29, and Nichola Roberts, 22, the girlfriend of James Watt's brother Richard. Watt will serve a minimum of 36 years, Oldfield a minimum of 18 and Roberts a minimum of 15.
James's brother Robert Watt, 20, and his mother, Jennifer Smith-Dennis, 58, were jailed for eight years and 10 years respectively for familial homicide. A third brother, Richard Watt, 25, who previously pleaded guilty to familial homicide, was sentenced to six years in prison.
Familial homicide, the offence of causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable adult, is a charge designed to ensure those jointly accused of the murder of such a person cannot avoid prosecution by blaming each other or remaining silent.
James, Robert and Richard Watt had pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice and, on Friday, Roberts, Oldfield and Smith-Dennis were convicted by the jury.
Passing sentence, Judge John Bevan QC described the case as a "grotesque story". He said Gilbert had died a "cruel, lonely and violent death" and the description of him as a slave was only a "mild exaggeration".
He told the family: "In all my years, both on the bench and at the bar, I have only ever dealt with a handful of cases where the behaviour can properly be described as depraved and you can be rightly added to this list. How, in a civilised society, this behaviour was allowed to continue is a mystery".
James Watt, who was described as "dangerous, cruel, vindictive, spiteful and heartless", was heard to say "cheers" to the judge as he was sent down.
Gilbert's mother, Rosalie White, did not want to comment after the sentence but his sister, Patricia Bussey, said: "It's about time it's been done, it's been dragging on for long enough. Michael has been tortured long enough and now he can finally be left in peace".
On James Watt's reaction to his sentence, she said: "All I can say is it's only going to be him that's going to regret everything that's happened. I hope they rot, I really do".
At the end of the trial on Friday, the Luton Safeguarding of Vulnerable Adults board (Sova) said a serious case review would be held.
Detective Chief Inspector Jon Humphries, from the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire major crime unit, said the callousness shown by the defendants was beyond anything he had seen in more than 26 years' service.
"We're very pleased that this has come to a successful conclusion," he said. "I think the sentences accurately reflect the nature of the violence that was meted out over the course of the last 10 years. The words that stick in my mind from the judge are 'grotesque' and 'depraved' over the nature of the behaviour that led to Michael's death".
The Guardian
