Somerset criminals jailed in May for brutal and horrific crimes

There are a whole raft of criminals who have been put behind bars in Somerset this month. Justice has been dispended to those who have broken the law, including multiple killers. The latest tranche of criminals includes two murderers, as well as dangerous drivers, rapists, and a teacher who brutally stabbed another teacher

Here SomersetLive looks at some of the criminals jailed in May MATTHEW JONES A teacher who brutally stabbed another teacher after failing to accept their on-off relationship was over has been jailed for 12 years.

Matthew Jones, 29, stabbed Emma Kirk, 25, around 15 times with a knife, inflicting injuries to her neck, head and face. Bristol Crown Court heard Jones attacked Miss Kirk because he would not accept she did not want to see him again. The attack was so brutal and frenzied it took five men to drag Jones off his victim and even then he tried to strangle her, jurors were told.

Sentencing, Judge Julian Lambert said Jones was "dangerous" and passed an extended sentence comprising of a 12-year custodial term, with an extended licence period of four years - describing it as an "extreme case". "There was an arrangement for you to meet and no one could have predicted what happened next which was a ferocious assault rarely seen before in the experience of the court. You pursued her and pulled her to the ground by her hair and while you were on top of her you stabbed her 15 times in a brutal and ferocious attack.

You were described as a man possessed. "What you did was so unpredictable and so mercilessly ferocious and persistent that I am left with the conclusion that you are dangerous. I have concluded that you will remain unpredictable for some considerable time.

"This was such an extreme reaction to a low level trigger that I consider that the risk is present for a considerable time to come."

NATHAN LAW A driver has been jailed after a police pursuit through a scenic town in May.

42-year-old Nathan Law, from Lansdowne, Semington, was jailed for a year after the incident in Melksham. On Wednesday, May 7, Law failed to stop for police officers and his black Vauxhall Astra was eventually lost to sight.

Shortly afterwards, the vehicle was located by Wiltshire Police's[1] Road Policing Unit on Pathwinder Way in Melksham. Law then made off from police but was chased by officers. He drove at excess speed, performing dangerous overtakes, driving the wrong way around roundabouts and driving head on into the path of members of the public.

The pursuit was eventually stopped following contact between the Astra and a police vehicle. Law was arrested at the scene and charged with dangerous driving, driving whilst disqualified and driving without insurance. Law appeared before Swindon Magistrates' Court[2] and pleaded guilty to all charges.

He was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment. He was also disqualified from driving for five years, five months and 28 days with a requirement to pass an extended driving test. He must also pay a GBP187 surcharge.

Nathan Law (Image: Wiltshire Police)

KIM PARKHOUSE AND MARK CRIPPS

Two serial shoplifters have been jailed after a crime spree targeting a number of retailers across Taunton. Kim Parkhouse, 36, and Mark Cripps, 45, both of Taunton[3], were sentenced at Taunton Magistrates' Court[4] on Monday, May 19 after separate investigations. Parkhouse was sentenced[5] to 20 weeks in prison for her involvement in ten shop thefts between March 5 and May 18 this year where GBP1,962 of items were stolen.

These included cleaning products, garden furniture and children's toys, from WHSmith, Homesense and B&M. Cripps was sentenced to 42 weeks in prison, which included a previous 18-week suspended sentence being revoked due to his latest offences. He was involved in seven shop thefts between March 3 and April 30 this year.

Kim Parkhouse, 36, and Mark Cripps, 45. (Image: Avon & Somerset Police)

ALAN MORRIS

The family of a woman who was killed in a collision while cycling home have paid tribute to her. Mary Emerson-Reed, 63, was killed by careless driver Alan Morris, of Budbury Circle, Bradford on Avon[6], who was speeding at the time. Mary, from Shaftsbury, Wiltshire[7], died after being knocked off her bike by Morris on the B3081 on the evening of June 23, 2023.

Morris, 75, was jailed for 10 months after pleading guilty to causing death by careless driving earlier this month. In a moving tribute, Mary's family said: "Mary was a keen and experienced cyclist[8] who had cycled all her life. A ride leader for Gillingham Wheelers cycling club and a key member of Blackmore Vale Cycling Club, she was named as a Community Champion by Cycling UK in the year she was killed.

Morris initially claimed to have been unable to see her due to the lights of a car coming from the opposite direction, according to Wiltshire Police[9]. Forensic enquiries following the collision, however, demonstrated that Mary and her friend would have been visible from a distance of at least 200 metres due to the lighting on both Mary and her friend's bicycles. Morris was also found to have been driving at around 69mph, above the 60mph limit.

Morris eventually pleaded guilty to death by careless driving. In a hearing at Salisbury Crown Court on May 9, he was sentenced to 10 months' imprisonment. He was also disqualified from driving for 29 months, when he will need to pass an extended test of competence.

He is also required to pay a surcharge of GBP187.

KONRAD HICNER A man who stole a mobility scooter from a vulnerable person has been jailed. Konrad Hicner, 40, admitted to four counts of burglary carried out in Taunton between October 2024 and February 2025.

Hicner, of no fixed address, stole the mobility scooter from a residential underground car park in Compass Ride on October 19. He also took a purse containing bank cards from Galmington Road and tried to enter a property in Hoveland Drive before he was disturbed by the owner through a video doorbell. He then broke into a home in Belmont Drive and was disturbed by another victim.

He had stolen a bag from the property, which was later found discarded. Hicner pleaded guilty to four counts of burglary and was sentenced to two years and seven months at Taunton Crown Court on Friday, May 23.

Konrad Hicner has been jailed (Image: Avon and Somerset Police)

CHRISTINE KEKKONEN A woman has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 15 years for fatally stabbing her loving husband[10] in the Somerset village of Baltonsborough, near Glastonbury[11], last year.

Christine Kekkonen claimed she had not intended to injure 41-year-old Henri Kekkonen but was convicted of his murder at Bristol Crown Court in November. She was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court[12] Friday May 23. The 37-year-old woman stabbed Henri in the neck[13] at their home in Dunford Terrace sometime between 4pm and 4.20pm on May 9, 2024.

At 4.21pm on that day, Christine Kekkonen sent a text message to her mum saying: "Mum, please get the police here now. Please. I've done something awful."

Her dad then called for an ambulance and police were informed. Within 15 minutes of the call being made, emergency services arrived at their home, but despite their efforts, Henri could not be saved and died at the scene from his wounds.

Christine Kekkonen murdered her husband (Image: Avon & Somerset Police)

DAVID PARISH A severely mentally-ill 38-year-old man has been sentenced after killing a woman with an umbrella in Somerset.

David Parish, of no fixed abode, appeared at Bristol Crown Court[14] on Friday, May 23, where he was given a six-year custodial sentence for beating an elderly woman to death in her own home. Parish pleaded guilty in January[15] to the manslaughter of 86-year-old Beryl Purdy by diminished responsibility. The court heard that Parish, originally from Bridgwater[16], had been staying in a mental health unit in Taunton at the time of the crime.

He escaped on Monday, March 27, where he made his way to the nearby village of Broomfield, north of Taunton[17]. He visited a barber and had his hair cut short and his beard shaved off. Prosecutor, Anna Vigars KC, told the court how Parish had tried to pull a man from a car as he drove away from the car park in Fyne Court, but was unsuccessful.

A short time later, Parish entered a nearby home. It was then that he attacked Beryl with an umbrella. She died as a result of her injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.

David Parish killed Beryl Purdy with an umbrella (Image: Avon and Somerset Police)

JANE BUTCHER

A woman has been jailed for a year and a half after she admitted to burgling a house in Taunton. Jane Butcher, of Triscombe Road, Taunton, entered a home in Holford Road on November 16, 2023. She was found by the victim inside the property.

A purse was stolen but later found discarded in the property's garden, Avon and Somerset Police said. Butcher, who the officer in the case described as a "prolific offender", was sentenced at Taunton Crown Court on Wednesday, May 21. The 44-year-old has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Jane Butcher was caught inside the victim's home (Image: Avon and Somerset Police)

EMILY MACARTHUR

A woman who went on the run after admitting conspiring to supply controlled drugs into prisons and importing cocaine from Jamaica has been sentenced to more than 13 years in prison. Emily MacArthur, aged 34, was jailed following an investigation by the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU). MacArthur, of no fixed address, failed to appear at Swindon Crown Court in April 2022 having pleaded guilty to both offences.

Her co-conspirator and former partner Dennis Obasi was sentenced to 11 years and seven months at Swindon Crown Court in November 2022. But on Friday (May 16), MacArthur was handed a jail sentence of 13 years and 11 months at Swindon Crown Court for her previous guilty pleas and for three counts of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs (crack cocaine and heroin), possession of criminal property, and failure to attend court.

Emily MacArthur, sentenced to 13 years and 11 months in jail for drug offences (Image: Submitted)

KALEB WYMAN, BRETT MARSHALL, LOUISE SANDERS Three gang members have been jailed after admitting to drug supply offences in Somerset.

Kaleb Wyman, 19, Brett Marshall, 43 and Louise Sanders, 45, were sentenced after they were arrested last year following a proactive operation. On Thursday, October 24, 2024, police arrested Marshall in a suspected drug deal in Manilla Crescent. Police witnessed him enter a car and then leave a few seconds later.

Police then searched Marshall's home address where they found Sanders and Wyman. Wyman was in possession of suspected Class A drugs, over GBP1,000 cash and a knuckle duster. The investigation uncovered that all three were concerned in the supply of Class A drugs in the Weston-super-Mare area, with the drugs coming from the West Midlands.

The trio were sentenced at Bristol Crown Court on Thursday, May 1. Wyman, from Birmingham, was jailed for three years after pleading guilty to two counts of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs, two counts of possession with intent to supply class A drugs and one count of possession of an offensive weapon (knuckle duster) in a private place. He was ordered to forfeit GBP1,189.90 believed to be from drug-related activity.

Marshall from Weston-super-Mare, was jailed for two years after pleading guilty to two counts of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs. He was ordered to forfeit GBP100 believed to be from drug-related activity. Sanders also from Weston-super-Mare, received a prison sentence of 16 months after admitting the same offences.

(L-R) Kaleb Wyman, Brett Marshall and Louise Sanders (Image: Avon and Somerset Police)

THOMAS NOONAN

A man who robbed a pharmacy at knife point has been jailed.

32-year-old Thomas Noonan, of Lower Bristol Road in Bath[18], appeared at Salisbury Crown Court[19] on Friday, April 25, where he was jailed for four years. On September 5, 2024, Noonan entered Gompels Pharmacy in Bank Street, Melksham, just after 9am with a knife. He told staff not to move before stealing several items from the shelves, including perfume.

Following lengthy enquiries, Noonan was connected with the offence and officers from CID and County Local Policing Tasking Team travelled to Bath to arrest him. Searches of the flat revealed clothes which Noonan had worn during the offence. He was charged with robbery[20] and possession of a bladed article in a public place.

He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years in custody for the offences.

Thomas Noonan (Image: Wiltshire Police)

BARBARA ROE A mum who caused the death of her young son in a car crash has been jailed. Barbara Roe, while attempting to overtake a Ford Transit van on a blind left-hand bend, crashed into a cattle transporter travelling in the opposite direction.

Nine-year-old Zac Roe was inside the vehicle at the time. Bournemouth Crown Court heard that the defendant had been driving a grey Citroen DS9 on Monday, March 24, 2024, on the A354 near East Woodyates, North Dorset. Witnesses described the car travelling at speed and attempting to overtake other vehicles ahead of the crash.

At 5.21pm, Dorset Police were informed of a crash between the grey Citroen, a white Ford Transit and a DAF cattle transporter truck and trailer. Roe, 39, tried to overtake the van as she approached a blind left-hand bend and crossed into the white solid road markings. The cattle transponder was travelling in the opposite directions and the vehicles crashed as it rounded the bend.

Roe, of Ludgershall in Wiltshire, was sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court on Friday, May 2 after previously admitting an offence of causing death by dangerous driving. She was sentenced to five years in prison. She was also disqualified from driving for a period of seven and a half years.

Barbara Roe (Image: Dorset Police)

JAMES HORTOP

A man who exposed his genitals and masturbated in front of two females has been jailed.

40-year-old James Hortop, of Dennis Street in Swindon, was given a suspended jail sentence on April 7, but has now been jailed following a further incident. Hortop was brought to the attention of Wiltshire Police[21] three times within the space of five weeks and was arrested twice in relation to exposure offences[22]. On April 7, he was sentenced to 26 weeks in jail, which was suspended for 18 months.

However, just over three weeks later, he was arrested on April 30 for a further incident of exposure. He walked onto a garage forecourt wearing nothing but a dressing gown. His genitals were exposed.

He proceeded to masturbate in view of two females. At Swindon Magistrates' Court he was sentenced to a total of 15 months' imprisonment. Previous restraining orders and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order remain in place and Hortop is now subject to Sex Offender registration requirements for an extra seven years, making 14 years in total.

James Hortop, 40. (Image: Wiltshire Police)

NIGEL FRITH

A calculating sex offender, who assaulted six people over an 11-year period, has admitted his crimes. Nigel Frith, of Woolavington, pleaded guilty to 14 counts of sexual assault by touching against four children and two adults. The 56-year-old was sentenced at Taunton Crown Court to a prison sentence of 34 months.

The court heard that Frith's offending took place between 2012 and 2023. Frith would touch, kiss and make sexual suggestions towards children as young as 10 through to adults in their 20s and 30s. As well as his jail sentence, Frith has been given a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and a restraining order.

He has also been added to the sex offenders' register.

Nigel Frith (Image: Avon and Somerset Police)

KIERON GOODWIN A dangerous cocaine addict who raped and abused multiple women before murdering his partner when she tried to leave him will spend at least 35 years in jail. Kieron Goodwin, from Frome, murdered 29-year-old Olivia Wood when she tried to leave him.

They had been together just three months before he strangled her to death, after he plied her with cocaine. He's been jailed for life and the judge imposed a mandatory life sentence for murder and nine other concurrent life sentences for the sexual offences. Goodwin also committed horrific sexual offences against three other women, including rapes, sexual assault by penetration and five counts of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent over a five-year period.

Judge Martin Picton said: "Not withstanding the murder of Olivia Wood, you are clearly highly dangerous. You are a highly manipulative, deviant misogynist and selfish narcissist and a thoroughly evil individual. The term evil is thoroughly deserved in your case."

Murderer and rapist Kieron Goodwin (Image: Avon and Somerset Police)

WILLIAM CHALKLEY

A rapist who destroyed the lives of two women has been jailed. William Chalkley of Court Barton, Crewkerne, was found guilty of raping and assaulting two women by unanimous verdict back in March. The 40-year-old defendant was sentenced at Taunton Crown Court, sitting at North Somerset Courthouse on Thursday, May 8.

He was sentenced for 11 counts of rape and one count each of assault by penetration, sexual assault, controlling and coercive behaviour and assault causing actual bodily harm. The offences were carried out against two women between the mid 2010s and mid 2020s. He has been sentenced to 24 years in prison.

William Chalkey (Image: Avon and Somerset Police)

MICHAEL STACK

A disqualified driver who drove at 120mph whilst trying to evade two police forces and a police helicopter, whilst also using drugs, has been jailed[23]. Michael Thomas Stack, aged 23 and of Severn Road in Weston-super-Mare[24], had failed to stop for an officer on Sunday, April 13. Officers from the Roads Policing Unit were patrolling the M5 in an unmarked car when the on-board system flagged that the registered driver of a BMW travelling in front had recently been disqualified from driving.

Stack appeared at Cheltenham Magistrates' Court[25] where he was sentenced to 12 months in prison and disqualified from driving for four years and six months. He must take an extended driving test at the end of the driving ban and was ordered to pay GBP272 in court costs.

Michael Thomas Stack, 23 and of Weston-super-Mare. (Image: Gloucestershire Police)

WARREN CHIDDY A drug dealer found with nearly 9kg of cocaine at his home in Keynsham has been jailed.

Warren Chiddy pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of class A drugs after two carrier bags full of cocaine were found at an address in Staple Grove. Police officers from the Keynsham Neighbourhood Policing Team carried out a warrant under the Misuse of Drugs Act at the property on Monday, March 24 and found the bags which contained several packages of cocaine. Further drugs were found in a safe in the bedroom and, following analysis, were established to be 8.7kg of cocaine, with an estimated street value of more than GBP700,000.

Avon and Somerset Police issued a wanted persons appeal to find Chiddy, 29, on Monday, March 31. He was arrested a day later and charged on Wednesday, April 2. Chiddy, of Staple Grove, was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court on Thursday, May 8 to six years and four months in prison after he pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of class A drugs (cocaine).

Warren Chiddy (Image: Avon and Somerset Police)

DARREN ASHTON

A man who live-streamed child sexual abuse from the Philippines and shared indecent images of children has been sentenced following a National Crime Agency investigation. Darren Ashton, 52, from Somerset, regularly accessed websites that streamed the real-time abuse of children in the Philippines. Calling himself 'Daz from England', Ashton discussed the sharing of images and videos of boys aged 13 and 14 and talked about his preference for 'cam shows' rather than recorded videos.

He pleaded guilty to nine child sexual abuse offences on February 13 at Taunton Crown Court. He was sentenced at the same court today (May 9) to four years in prison. He will also be on the Sex Offenders Register for life and subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) indefinitely.

Darren Ashton

STUART HAND

A woman's bravery in coming forward about the abuse and trauma she experienced as a child has put her rapist behind bars. Stuart Hand, 38, offered a teenage girl a lift in 2019 and supplied her with drugs and alcohol before taking her to his home where he raped her. During sentencing at Bristol Crown Court on Friday, May 9, Hand's victim, who is now an adult, said she was left "completely traumatised" by the attack and feared she would not survive.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, she said: "This man took away my sense of safety and trust, my childhood, and a part of me I will never get back. "What he did left me completely traumatised -- emotionally and mentally." Hand was sentenced to 12 years in prison and handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Stuart Hand (Image: Avon and Somerset Police)

Somerset Live WhatsApp Breaking News and Top Stories

Join Somerset Live's WhatsApp community for top stories and breaking news sent directly to your phone

Somerset Live[26] is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our community. Through the app, we'll send the latest breaking news, top stories, exclusives and much more straight to your phone. To join our community you need to already have WhatsApp.

All you need to do is click this link and select 'Join Community'.[27] No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Somerset Live[28] team. We also treat community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners.

If you don't like our community, you can check out at any time you like. To leave our community, click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'Exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.[29]

Click here to join our WhatsApp community.[30]

References

1. ^ Wiltshire Police's (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
2. ^ Court (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
3. ^ Taunton (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
4. ^ Court (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
5. ^ sentenced (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
6. ^ Alan Morris, of Budbury Circle, Bradford on Avon (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
7. ^ Wiltshire (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
8. ^ experienced cyclist (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
9. ^ according to Wiltshire Police (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
10. ^ fatally stabbing her loving husband (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
11. ^ near Glastonbury (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
12. ^ Bristol Crown Court (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
13. ^ 37-year-old woman stabbed Henri in the neck (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
14. ^ Bristol Crown Court (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
15. ^ Parish pleaded guilty in January (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
16. ^ originally from Bridgwater (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
17. ^ north of Taunton (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
18. ^ Bath (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
19. ^ Court (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
20. ^ robbery (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
21. ^ Wiltshire Police (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
22. ^ exposure offences (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
23. ^ jailed (www.bristolpost.co.uk)
24. ^ Weston-super-Mare (www.bristolpost.co.uk)
25. ^ Court (www.bristolpost.co.uk)
26. ^ Somerset Live (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
27. ^ click this link and select 'Join Community'. (chat.whatsapp.com)
28. ^ Somerset Live (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
29. ^ Privacy Notice. (www.reachplc.com)
30. ^ Click here to join our WhatsApp community. (chat.whatsapp.com)