Coroner’s concern over crossbows
THE PARTNER of a man killed with a crossbow by a neighbour who lay in wait for him at his home has said it is “unbelievable” that ownership of “such a lethal, medieval weapon” remains unregulated.
Laura Sugden spoke yesterday after a coroner said he is writing to Home Secretary Priti Patel about his concerns over crossbow sales following Shane Gilmer’s death.
Mr Gilmer, 30, died after his next next-door neighbour, Anthony Lawrence, broke into his house in the village of Southburn, near Driffield, in January 2018, and shot both him and Ms Sugden, who survived the attack.
Lawrence was later found dead in a camper van in North Yorkshire after taking an overdose of painkillers.
Yesterday, an inquest jury in Hull concluded that Mr Gilmer was unlawfully killed.
Speaking outside court, Ms Sugden, who was pregnant at the time with their daughter Ella-Faith, who will be three in the summer, said he was murdered in the “most cruel and terrifying way imaginable”.
Ms Sugden said she would be speaking to MPs and the Home Secretary in the coming weeks to see what can be done to reform crossbow laws in memory of the council worker and to honour their “beautiful daughter that he never got to meet”.
She said: “It is unbelievable that the sale and ownership of such a lethal, medieval weapon remains unregulated in our modern society.
“There are no laws in place to help prevent crossbows from falling into the hands of twisted and dangerous individuals Lawrence.”
Ms Sugden, who has another daughter from a previous relationship, said Mr Gilmer had been a loving partner and a wonderful father and step-father, adding: “It was clear from his final words how much he loved us all and I hope he knew how much we all loved him.”
The inquest heard how Lawrence shot Ms Sugden in the head in a deadly revenge attack after being served with an eviction notice.
Lawrence had blamed the pair for reporting him to letting agents like Anthony about a strong smell of cannabis coming into Mrs Sugden’s daughter’s bedroom.
Police later said it had been a “carefully planned, premeditated” attack, with Lawrence installing a listening device so he could eavesdrop on the pair.
Mr Gilmer was fatally injured by a crossbow bolt penetrating his arm and body and died later in hospital.
As well as finding three crossbows and two axes, there were darts on Lawrence’s kitchen table and evidence of him making them even more lethal than they would have been.