Killer’s family consider appeal to cut sentence
THE family of a war veteran jailed for killing his neighbours are considering an appeal – to get his sentence reduced.
Collin Reeves, 35, was jailed for at least 38 years for the murders of Jennifer and Stephen Chapple in Norton Fitzwarren in November.
Reeves killed the married couple as their children slept upstairs. The murders followed a parking row between the neighbours.
But the killer’s parents are now talking to lawyers in a bid to cut the sentence, reports the Mirror Online. Reeves’ mother Lynn Reeves, 68, said prosecutors did not get full details of her son’s mental health problems until days before the trial.
“You cannot condone what Collin did. He knows he deserves to be punished,” Mrs Reeves said.
“But we believe he was let down by the psychiatrists who assessed his mental health for the court. His legal team were shocked by the length of the sentence and are considering an appeal.”
Mrs Reeves and husband Brian said days before the murders, their son broke down in tears when the
Last Post sounded on a Remembrance Day TV broadcast.
Mrs Reeves said: “The psychiatrists decided he was suffering only mild or moderate depression and that influenced the prosecution in refusing his manslaughter plea.”
She believes if the prosecution had had enough time to consider forensic clinical psychologist Karen Gough’s diagnosis, her son’s manslaughter plea would have been accepted.
Dr Gough diagnosed complex post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, avoidance issues and disassociation but a mix-up over email details meant she only saw him a week before his court case.
Reeves was a lance corporal with 24 Commando Royal Engineers at Camp Bastion, Helmand, Afghanistan, where he guarded terrorist prisoners. Retired carer Mrs Reeves said: “He was let down when he was discharged. There was no follow-up. No assessment of any possible PTSD issues.”
In November 2021, Reeves climbed a garden fence, entered the Chapples’ Somerset home, and stabbed Jennifer, 33, and Stephen, 36, in their living room with a ceremonial dagger he received on leaving the Army. Their two sons were asleep upstairs and the attack lasted less than a minute.
Screaming Mrs Chapple was killed on the sofa and Mr Chapple was found lying close to the back door.
Reeves then returned home, dialled 999 and confessed.
He had been having a row with the Chapples over designated parking on the new-build housing development for six months. Just 40 minutes before the attack, Reeves’ wife Kayley, mum to their two children, had asked for a trial separation.
The Bristol Crown Court judge Mr Justice Garnham said the killings had “torn the heart out of two perfectly normal, decent families”. But Mrs Reeves said: “Knowing what we now know about his mental health, should that sentence be for 38 years?”
The Crown Prosecution Service’s Joanna Clark said: “Reeves sought to avoid responsibility for murder by claiming his actions were the result of PTSD.
“Two psychiatrists agreed that although Reeves suffered from mild to moderate depression this was not sufficient to be considered abnormal mental functioning that could lead to diminished responsibility.
“Our thoughts are with the family of Jennifer and Stephen.”