Ex-soldier neighbour charged with knifing of Somerset couple
‘It’s a very close knit community so it is devastating news’
A FORMER soldier has been charged with murder after a couple were killed in a Somerset village over an alleged parking dispute.
Collin Reeves, 34, was arrested and charged by detectives yesterday evening following an alleged altercation with married couple Stephen and Jennifer Chapple, aged 36 and 33 respectively, in Norton Fitzwarren on Sunday night.
Mr Reeves, a former Commando Royal Engineer, lived next door to the victims.
Mr and Mrs Chapple were found dead at their home while their two sons, aged five and six, slept upstairs. Their youngest son had just started primary school.
The incident is alleged to be linked to a parking dispute between neighbours in the Taylor Wimpey development, where neighbours complained that there simply “isn’t enough of it”.
Images taken near the crime scene show two cars parked bumper to bumper in a single parking bay owned by the Chapples.
“It’s horrendous. People park at bad angles, on corners, blocking driveways because the spaces are so limited,” resident Sharon Sedgbeer, 50, said.
On Wednesday, neighbours near where the incident took place said they heard a man shouting at the murder scene just minutes before police arrived. “I heard a man outside. He was shouting,” the neighbour said.
“He was very sweary. I didn’t hear anything said in return. Just him.”
She continued: “I didn’t hear anyone shouting back, and given the distance from their house I think I would have done. So I assumed they were on the phone. But he was definitely talking to someone.”
Avon and Somerset Police said the incident on the Dragon Rise estate would be referred to the policing watchdog owing to “prior police contact with those involved”.
Post-mortem examinations show that both Mrs Chapple, who worked at the Otter garden centre at Pen Elm, near Taunton, and her husband, who taught computing at West Somerset College, had been stabbed to death.
In a statement released last night, Avon and Somerset Police said: “Collin Reeves, of Dragon Rise, Norton Fitzwarren, remains in police custody and is due to appear at Taunton magistrates’ court tomorrow morning (Thursday, Nov 25).
“Jennifer, aged 33, and Stephen, aged 36, were formally identified earlier today.
“Post-mortem examinations concluded they both died from multiple stab wounds.”
Det Insp Neil Meade said: “Specialist officers are providing support to Jennifer and Stephen’s families and our thoughts remain with them this evening.”
Rebecca Pow, MP for Taunton, said it was “absolutely tragic and shocking”, adding: “It’s a very close knit community so it is devastating news.”