31 years jail for crossbow killer who left a dad to die in agony
A SPORTS therapist has been jailed for a minimum of 31 years for the crossbow killing of a retired lecturer.
Terence Whall, 39, was convicted of the murder of Gerald Corrigan, 74, who was shot as he adjusted a satellite dish outside his home in the early hours of April 19 last year.
Anna Pope, prosecuting, said Whall, had given no motive for the killing and there was no evidence of a connection between him and Mr Corrigan, who died on May 11.
Speaking from behind a screen at Mold Crown Court in North Wales, Mr Corrigan’s son Neale said through tears: “How can someone choose to use such a barbaric weapon on an old man?
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“Did they really want to cause him a slow and painful death? Because that is what we witnessed.”
Also from behind a screen, Mr Corrigan’s partner Marie Bailey said: “It is a terrible inferno inside me every day, thinking of how Gerry suffered.”
Sentencing Whall to life in prison, Mrs Justice Jefford told him: “Your arrogant belief that you could get away with murder was misplaced.”
Ms Pope saidWhall, originally from east London, had hidden behind a wall outside the pensioner’s remote home in
Anglesey and tampered with the satellite dish to lure him into the garden.
Whall initially claimed he was at home in Bryngwran on the night of the shooting but, when the GPS data in his Land Rover Discovery was recovered, he said he was having a sexual encounter in a nearby field.
North Wales Police said a parallel fraud investigation was ongoing after claims Mr Corrigan and Ms Bailey handed over £250,000 to convicted fraudster RichardWyn Lewis.
Whall was given a concurrent sentence of six years for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice for a plot to set fire to his Land Rover, which was discovered burnt-out on June 3.
The court heard that Whall was heavily in debt.
ACTRESS Liz Hurley has warned she might have her “millionth midlife crisis” when her son turns 18 next month. The 54-year-old, who pays tribute to Jackie Kennedy’s style in photos for Tatler’s April First Lady issue, told the magazine: “It will be the first time in 18 years there are no half-terms, no school holidays, no school runs or sewing name tapes. “And of course, I embrace it, but it’s a real milestone in Mummy’s life.” Damian, whose father is US businessman Steve Bing, is following in Liz’s footsteps as a model. Liz says she hopes she will not be posing in a bikini in 10 years and tells of her dreams of finding her Mr Right.
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