Burglar gets jail for death of victim, 57
The emotional words of a heartbroken daughter were read to a judge before he sentenced the thief who had killed her father.
A statement from Emily Bubbins was read to Cardiff Crown Court before serial burglar Paul Paget was jailed for 15 years and six months for the “act of degradation and humiliation” he inflicted on her father Anthony Bubbins.
She said her world “effectively ended” when her mother died two and a half years ago, but she got back in touch with her father and they were developing their relationship.
Ms Bubbins said: “It gave me hope that I was not completely alone.”
She said losing her father in this way was “devastating” and she realised she would have no-one to walk her down the aisle if she married or any grandparents on her side if she had children.
Ms Bubbins said: “I am back to square one with the grief. I am having to come to terms with losing both parents before the age of 30.”
She said the world is a “lonely place” as she has no brothers or sisters and now feels scared to be close to anyone in case anything happens to them.
Mr Justice Simon Picken praised Mr Bubbins’ family for their strength and dignity. Sentencing Paget, 54, at Cardiff Crown Court, he said: “This was a truly horrible way in which to die.”
Paget killed the vulnerable 57-yearold coin collector then burgled his home, sold some of his belongings and fled to Devon.
The court previously heard Mr Bubbins was found dead at a house in Brynderwen Road in Newport on Monday, January 15. Prosecutors said he was found in the living room, lying half on and half off a mattress, with his hands tied behind his back, a sock forced into his mouth and a pillow over his face. The judge described the circumstances as “an act of degradation and humiliation” and said: “A callous lack of remorse is evident.”
Opening the case, prosecutor Caroline Rees QC described the victim as a “vulnerable person”.
Paget burgled the victim’s home on Christchurch Road with co-defendant Steven Appleton.
Paget, 54, from Brynderwen Road in Newport, was found guilty of manslaughter and admitted burglary. He was jailed for 15 years and six months.
Appleton, 32, of Seabreeze Drive in Newport, admitted burglary, producing cannabis and supplying cannabis.
The court heard on January 4, police discovered 10 mature cannabis plants and 32 young plants in a tent at his home. Scott Bowen, for Appleton, described him as a “vulnerable adult” and said the pre-sentence report found he was “suggestible”.
Appleton was jailed for 20 months.