Hostel attacker ‘sent threatening letters from jail’

HOSTEL attacker Matthew Williams sent letters from prison threatening police, his partner and others in the months before he killed Cerys Yemm, a court has heard.

PC Jake Silver, of Gwent Police, told an inquest into both of their deaths at Newport Coroner’s Court that missives were handed to them by the probation service. They were sent by Williams, 34, while he was serving a jail sentence for blackmail at Parc Prison.

Two weeks after he was released in October 2014, he fatally attacked Cerys Yemm at the Sirhowy Arms, in Argoed. He also died at the scene.

“The letters were strange,” PC Silver said. “On one page he was expressing how he wanted to be with his partner as a family and on the next page he would say he hated her. And on the next page he would revert back to being nice. It was something of a concern.”

The court heard he also made threats to send cars “poof, up in smoke” and made a threat to “break someone’s hands and legs”.

Lloyd Williams, for the Yemm family, outlined other writing from Williams.

“He says of named individuals that they are a ‘dead man walking,’ and that someone is going to be ‘proper dead,’” Mr Williams said. “And he also says, I think in respect of a police officer, and I’m using the full words, that he was ‘going to beat the f*** out of him, his wife and his children.’”

Mr Williams told the court Williams wrote that he had “told probation to f*** off” and that he was going to serve the entirety of his blackmail sentence. When free he planned to “go under the radar”.

“I ain’t telling no-one my address, f*** the police,” Mr Williams told the court Matthew Williams wrote.

PC Silver told the court they had sought to prosecute Williams for the letters but had been unable to proceed. The court heard the Crown Prosecution Service had said charging him for sending malicious communications would not be in the public interest since any sentence he would receive would be minimal.

He could not be charged with making threats to his partner because she was unwilling to help the police, nor could he be charged over the threats to the detective because they had not been made directly to them.

The CPS told Gwent Police it may be possible to proceed with making threats to property but the police needed proof Williams had sent the letters, since they were not all signed.

Police were unable to get fingerprints from the letters because they had become tainted.

Addressing PC Silver, Mr Williams said “it’s clear” the letters were from Williams.

“That was not a decision for me to make,” PC Silver said.

“But that’s how they read?” Mr Williams said.

“Yes, of course they do,” PC Silver said.

The court heard while Williams was locked up for blackmail he was also awaiting trial for conspiracy to burgle.

“Can we assume from the way everyone was talking, that it was quite a big important conspiracy and people thought he was going to get a long sentence?” Mr Williams said.

PC Silver said: “My understanding was that it was a done deal, that there was overwhelming evidence for that matter.”

Mr Williams asked if there was “a bit of a cock-up”.

“Not by myself,” PC Silver said. “My understanding is there were a couple of errors.”

Mr Williams said those charges were thrown out in July 2014.

“And that is why there is a lack of urgency over the threats to kill, because it’s not going to add much?” Mr Williams said. PC Silver did not deny this. The hearing continues.