News

Murder victim was stabbed 40 times

Published

11 years ago

January 23, 2014

A TENBY woman allegedly murdered will blame her boyfriend from beyond the grave, a jury heard on Wednesday.

Joanna Elizabeth Hall, aged 30, survived for 19 days after she was stabbed 40 times at her home in Cresswell Street in the centre of the town.

Elwen Evans QC, prosecuting at Swansea crown court, said Miss Hall was conscious enough to tell medics and relatives she had been attacked by Steven Daniel Williams, also 30.

She was even well enough, for a while, to make a formal police statement repeating the allegation. The jury at Swansea crown court has also heard how armed police had to threaten Williams after responding to a 999 call. Williams has denied stabbing Miss Hall 40 times and then allegedly waiting all night before calling for help. By then it was too late and Miss Hall died on April 4, 2013, 19 days after being attacked.

The jury heard today what happened when Williams, of Newell Hill, 25 Marsh Road, Tenby, finally dialled 999.

He told the emergency operator “It must have happened a couple of hours ago.”

When police arrived they noticed Williams was standing in the road outside Miss Hall’s home and did not call them over and show them where to go.

Armed police approached him and noticed he was bleeding from a wound to his left ear.

“He was incoherent and unhelpful,” added Miss Evans. “He became agitated. Officers restrained him and put the red dot of a taser on him.”

Williams told police initially that he had gone out “for five minutes to get some fags.”

When he returned Miss Hall had been stabbed “and her intestines were hanging out.”

Williams was arrested and taken to Haverfordwest police station. During the journey he was volatile, “smiling one moment, angry the next.”

On his arrest for attempted murder, Williams told police they could “**** shove it up your arses.”

He also said, “My solicitor will sort it out and the arresting officers will be out of a job.”

Miss Evans said back at Cresswell Street the armed officers found Miss Hall lying in the lounge wrapped in a blood soaked duvet taken from a bedroom.

She was flown by air ambulance to Swansea’s Morriston Hospital. In the helicopter a medic asked her if her “fellow” had stabbed her and she replied, yes. Miss Hall said she had been stabbed while lying on the floor. Williams had apologised but then stabbed her again.

Meanwhile, at Haverfordwest police station, officers asked Williams about the injury to his ear. He said he had injured himself skateboarding two days earlier.

“He was lying. There was fresh blood in the sink (at Miss Hall’s flat). The injuries were inflicted by Joanna while she was able to try to defend herself,” added Miss Evans.

Earlier, the jury was told Williams may have sat alongside his fatally injured victim “all night” before dialling 999.

Williams, said Miss Evans, was to claim to police that a stranger must have entered Miss Hall’s two bedroom flat while he was out for 10 minutes buying cigarettes. But, Miss Evans told the jury, CCTV cameras showed that no-one entered the street during that time.

In her opening address, Miss Evans said of the living only Williams, known as Sparrow, knew what happened inside Miss Hall’s flat on March 16, “and he isn’t saying.”

But before Miss Hall died she gave accounts to several people and even made a witness statement. She told her sister, Georgina Marwick, from her death bed at Swansea’s Morriston hospital, that Williams had turned up at her flat “drunk on whisky.”

According to Mrs Marwick, Miss Hall told her, “He flipped. He tried to rip a radiator off the wall. He stabbed me. I asked him to ring for help and he said ‘no’

“He said I would have to take my own life or he would do it for me.

“If I told anyone he would come back and finish me off

“He said he did not want to kill me but he did not want to go back into prison. He sat with me all night.

“He said, ‘will you just die.’ In the morning he went to a shop and told me not to run off.”

Williams is also alleged to have said to Miss Hall, “Aren’t you dead yet?”

In a witness statement to police, Miss Hall said Williams walked from the kitchen to the lounge holding a knife. She asked him what he was going to do with it and he replied, “Watch me.”

Miss Evans said although Williams would not say what happened the prosecution had been able to build a clear picture by putting together footage from the “surprisingly” high number of CCTV cameras in Tenby town centre and mobile telephone traffic.

At 5.20pm on March 15 Williams was at Tenby Cottage Hospital telling a nurse he thought he had “caught” something from having sex with a girl. The nurse could not diagnose him there and then and advised him to contact Care on Call.

That service tried to contact Williams at 8.50pm via Miss Hall’s Iphone but by then Williams had left her flat.

There followed a string of text messages from Miss Hall to Williams.

One read, “Cheers Steve. You just love breaking my heart don’t you, eh?”At 8.43pm she wrote, “Can’t believe I let myself fall for you.”

Two minutes later she wrote: “Don’t know why you keep coming back here. You have made it quite clear that you don’t want to be here.”At 9.01pm Williams was filmed buy a bottle of whisky at the Fiveways Garage. A police officer who knew him thought he was already drunk.

At 9.06pm Miss Hall telephoned a friend, Sean Dodd, and told him she had argued with Williams after he claimed to have “caught something” from her.

At 9.24pm, Miss Hall wrote to Williams saying: “You love making me cry, don’t you.”

In her last text message, sent at 11.15pm, Miss Hall told Williams there was something she needed to tell him and asked him to call around the next day.

“But he went back that night,” said Miss Evans.

Gabriel Roberts, who lived in the flat below Miss Hall’s, arrived home about 1.30am. She told police a man and a woman upstairs were arguing so loudly she put in earplugs to help her get to sleep.

By 3.07am Williams was using Miss Hall’s telephone to call a friend, Stephen Camp, and, said Miss Evans, it seemed the attack followed soon afterwards. Williams made repeated attempts to contact Mr Camp, but he was asleep. He finally got through at 7.24am and asked him to come to Cresswell Street. Mr Camp arrived at 8.05am. He saw Miss Hall on the floor and heard her whisper, “help me.”

Mr Camp said he panicked and told Williams to call the police. He was filmed leaving the flat at 8.09am

“So does he call 999?” asked Miss Evans. “No.”

But 10 minutes later he did make the call.

Community

Officials announced for 2026 Eisteddfod in Pembrokeshire

Published

3 hours ago

November 14, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THE NATIONAL EISTEDDFOD returns to Pembrokeshire in 2026, and organisers have named the officials who will steer this major cultural event over the next year and a half.

With the artistic and local committees already established, meetings to finalise competitions and adjudicators are underway to ensure the List of Competitions is ready by spring. Committee members have also been voting over the past weeks to elect key officials for the Executive Committee.

John Davies, former leader of Pembrokeshire County Council, has been appointed Chair of the Executive Committee. Known for his deep connection to Pembrokeshire and extensive experience with national organisations, Davies aims to make the Eisteddfod a true community event, welcoming involvement from all corners of the region.

Tegryn Jones, Chief Executive of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, takes on the role of Deputy Chair (Strategy). With a strong passion for Welsh culture and language, Jones brings a wealth of experience working with local communities, visitors, and volunteers across three counties.

Deputy Chair (Culture) is Carys Ifan, Director of Canolfan Egin and a seasoned cultural organiser. Based in Llangrannog and originally from Llandudoch, Ifan has led numerous artistic and community projects across the region.

Cris Tomos, a community development veteran with over 30 years of experience, will lead the 2026 Eisteddfod Local Fund. Working with PLANED, a community development charity, Tomos has supported countless community enterprises and co-operatives in Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion, and Carmarthenshire.

Non Davies, recently elected as Executive Committee Secretary, brings extensive cultural management expertise as Ceredigion County Council’s Corporate Manager for Culture. Having chaired the Cardigan Local Fund Committee for the 2022 Ceredigion Eisteddfod, Davies is well-versed in managing cultural projects.

National Eisteddfod Chief Executive, Betsan Moses, said: “We’re looking forward to working with John and the team over the next few months as we prepare for the 2026 Eisteddfod.

“There’s almost a quarter of a century since the Eisteddfod was last held in Pembrokeshire, and we’re very much looking forward to returning to the area. 2026 is an important year for us as we celebrate 850 years since the first Eisteddfod was held in Cardigan Castle in 1176.

“We’re looking forward to working in a new way within a catchment area which includes parts of another two counties, which is, of course, a chance to work with local people in Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire again.”

Further announcements are expected in the coming weeks, including the sale of competition prizes and opportunities to donate the Crown and the Chair.

The National Eisteddfod will be held in Llantood from August 1–8, 2026.

News

Campaigners urge Welsh Government to adopt proportional representation for Local Elections

Published

4 hours ago

November 14, 2024

Tom Sinclair

CAMPAIGNERS are calling on the Welsh Government to introduce the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system for local elections, following moves by two councils to shift away from the First Past the Post (FPTP) system being blocked on technical grounds.

Yesterday (Nov 14), Ceredigion Council voted narrowly, with an 18 to 17 majority, in favor of adopting STV. This follows Gwynedd Council’s decision last month, where 65% of councillors backed the move. However, both councils have been prevented from implementing STV due to a requirement for a two-thirds majority under the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021.

In recent consultations, public support for STV has been overwhelming, with over 70% in Gwynedd and 67% in Ceredigion favoring the change. Only Powys Council rejected the proposal, despite 60.5% of its respondents supporting STV. Campaigners argue that the current system deprives voters of representation, citing that over 100,000 people were denied a vote in the 2022 elections due to uncontested seats.

The Electoral Reform Society Cymru (ERS Cymru) highlights the contrast with Scotland, where the introduction of STV for local elections in 2007 has significantly reduced uncontested seats. According to ERS Cymru, Scotland has had fewer uncontested seats in the last four elections combined than Gwynedd Council recorded alone in 2022.

Jess Blair, Director of ERS Cymru, said:

“Decisions made in council chambers affect everyone in those areas, so every vote should count. It’s absurd that councils choosing STV are blocked by a technicality, leaving them stuck with an outdated system that denies representation to thousands. The Welsh Government must act to avoid repeating the undemocratic outcomes of the last elections.”

Campaigners are now calling on the Welsh Government to introduce STV across all councils in Wales, ensuring representation that reflects the electorate’s wishes.

Business

Upgrades completed at Port of Milford Haven’s simulator suite

Published

5 hours ago

November 14, 2024

Tom Sinclair

UPGRADES have been completed to state-of-the-art equipment within the Port of Milford Haven’s navigation simulator suite at Milford Waterfront enabling marine professionals to receive bespoke specialist training. The virtual reality simulation system can safely replicate a range of scenarios that seafarers may experience in real world situations such as extreme weather conditions, emergency situations and escort tug work.

The upgrades provided by Netherlands-based company MARIN contain the latest hardware in terms of processing power and graphics, as well as upgrades to MARIN’s ‘Dolphin’ software, increasing the capability to create scenarios. These are complemented with new 4k visuals on 75” screens which increase the depth and field of vision, adding to the realism.

Recently, a training day was led by Training Pilot Captain Mark Johnson, assisted by ex-Pilot Andy Hillier, involving members of the Svitzer team as well as Pilots Matt Roberts and Ian Coombes. As part of the scenario, they were faced with a loss of engine power and steering along with worsening weather and sea conditions. The Pilots had to communicate with Svitzer in order to successfully instruct them on how to tow and direct a drifting tanker. While scenarios like these are uncommon within port operations, it is important to rehearse procedures that would be implemented if they are required and enhances participants’ skill sets.

Marine Pilot and Simulator Instructor, Captain Ewan McNicoll, said “This simulator suite has future proofed our training capabilities, both internally for Pilots and marine staff, but also externally for clients wishing to use the facility, be it for training purposes or research and development. We can create any type of scenario with any type of ship, ranging from practicing ship handling manoeuvres to emergency situations, it really is game changing! Working with our partners at MARIN has been a complete success and I am very proud of our new facility.”

For more information about training at the navigation simulation suite please contact the Port of Milford Haven at [email protected] or 01646 696100.