Why was cannibal set free without any supervision?
Killer chatted up horror attack victim in bar
THE young woman killed in a Hannibal Lecter- style attack was lured to her death just hours after being chatted up in a bar.
Cerys Yemm, 22, who worked for clothing chain Next, was allegedly murdered by serial offender Matthew Williams at a hotel being used as a halfway house.
Williams, 34, died after being tasered by police, who are believed to have discovered him high on cocaine standing over an unconscious Miss Yemm, ‘eating her face and gouging an eye out’. She died at the scene.
The Probation Service yesterday launched an inquiry as it emerged Williams was not being monitored after his release from prison two weeks earlier – he had been sentenced to five years for attacking an ex-girlfriend.
Friends of Miss Yemm yesterday told how ‘womaniser’ Williams bought her a drink in a local bar. The sales assistant, nicknamed Yummy Yemmy, was report-
‘The police have failed big-time’
edly out with a group of friends in fancy dress – she was dressed as a zombie.
Friends said Williams invited her back to his hotel at the end of the evening, promising to get her a taxi home, but later persuaded her to come up to his room at the Sirhowy Arms in Argoed, South Wales, which operated as a bail hostel.
Police were called when horrified staff heard Miss Yemm’s screams. Some officers who attended the scene are believed to be so traumatised they needed counselling.
Yesterday, the authorities were criticised for allowing Williams – who has spent most of his adult life in prison – to roam the streets unmonitored by police. One of his former partners, Emma Thomas – the mother of his child – said police ‘have a lot to answer for’.
‘I’m out to get justice for the girl, against the police because they should’ve seen it coming,’ she said. ‘I hope the girl’s family gets justice for this because the police have failed big-time.’
The 38-year- old, who split up with Williams two and half years ago, added: ‘He got out of prison two weeks ago. I’m still under protection from him.
‘They (the police) know he was not safe. He didn’t go to prison for attacking me, it was someone else.’
Williams is thought to have taken drugs before the attack. It is speculated he may have taken ‘bath salts’ – an amphetamine-like stimulant that has been behind cannibalistic incidents in the US. Williams’s brother, Daniel, posted a cryptic comment on Facebook two days ago, saying: ‘Bath salts make him see things.’ Shelly Davies, a friend of Miss Yemm, said last night: ‘I just keep thinking of how frightening and painful it would have been for her.’ Another friend, Ryan Wilkins, condemned the criminal justice system for releasing Williams. He wrote on Facebook: ‘Hope that Matthew Williams rots in hell.’
Miss Yemm’s brother Cavan, 25, was in tears as he opened the door of the family home – a smart detached house in the village of Oakdale, South Wales. The family were too upset to comment.
Miss Yemm, who studied health and social care at Oakdale Comprehensive School, worked in sales at Next.
A resident said: ‘Everyone here knew Cerys – we watched her growing up. She was a lovely girl – smart, attractive and brought up by a very good family.’
Miss Yemm’s ex-boyfriend, Matthew Hayman, was jailed in October last year for setting his house on fire in a suicide attempt after she broke up with him. Relatives of Williams said in a statement: ‘Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim, her family and friends. Words cannot express our grief.’
A police spokesman said: ‘We are cooperating fully with the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which is independently investigating the death of the man.’