News

17-year-old sentenced to 15 year minimum term after brutal axe and sword murder

Published

6 years ago

September 14, 2018

A 16-YEAR-OLD schoolboy sipped tea with his stepmother at their home near St Clears and then slaughtered her with an axe and a samurai sword.

Reuben Brathwaite – who can be named for the first time today – even took photographs of the injured and then dead Mrs Scourfield and tried to upload them to the internet.

Brathwaite, now 17, admitted the murder and was today ordered by a judge to be detained at her majesty’s pleasure. He will be held in custody for a minimum of 15 years.

Brathwaite could not receive a life sentence because of his age but the sentence is effectively the same.

Swansea Crown Court heard how Brathwaite lived in a log cabin within the 14 acres of Broadmoor Farm with his father, a tree surgeon and landscape gardener, and his step mother, a keen animal lover.

Brathwaite moved into the cabin after his relationship with his step mother deteriorated.

The High Court judge, Mr Justice Picken, said he developed an interest in murder and constantly researched it on the internet, studying graphic images of executions and mass murder. He also began to feel isolated, depressed and “fed up with life,” but psychiatrists later confirmed he had not been mentally ill.

Brathwaite developed the idea that he would commit suicide but if he killed someone instead it would ‘somehow get him out of it’.

After returning home after a ‘regular, matter of fact’ day at school he put his plan into action.

Brathwaite chatted with his stepmother over a cup of tea and then indicated that there was something wrong with a cat she was looking after.

As she left the farmhouse to attend to the animal Brathwaite hit her over her head with the blunt side of an axe ‘eight or nine times’ until he could see her brain.

He took a photograph of her as she lay on the floor and tried unsuccessfully to post it on the internet.

Then he retrieved a samurai sword from under his father’s bed and cut her throat with it.

Brathwaite telephoned the police and told then what he had done and said he would put the sword into a caravan, not to hide it, he said, but to put it out of the way.

After his arrest he said he had used the axe in the hope of knocking Mrs Scourfield unconscious so she would not suffer when he cut her throat.

Mr Justice Picken said he found Brathwaite’s internet activity – and the attempt to post images of the murder as he committed it – to be ‘most disturbing’.

He told Brathwaite: “You made a clear decision to to go to find those weapons and to use them to kill your stepmother.

“This was an attack of savagery against someone who cared for you.

“This was not a spur of the moment attack. It was clearly pre-planned.”

Mr Justice Picken said if Brathwaite had been 18 the starting point would have been life with a minimum of 25 years.

But he had to have regard for his age to discount the sentence in return for his plea of guilty.

Brathwaite displayed no reaction as he was led away.

Mr Justice Picken then ruled that the court order protecting Brathwaite’s identity should be lifted because of the seriousness of his offending and because people in the area had the right to know who had murdered Fiona Scourfield.

Crime

Pembroke Dock woman in court for failing to remove rubbish from property

Published

10 hours ago

November 25, 2024

Court Reporter

A PEMBROKE DOCK resident is due to appear before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court later today (Nov 25) for multiple alleged breaches of a community protection notice.

Sheena Deacon, of 13 Wavell Crescent, Pembroke Dock, faces charges under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, which carries a maximum penalty of a Level 4 fine.

The charges stem from allegations that Deacon failed to remove accumulated household waste from her property on several occasions. According to court documents, the breaches occurred on September 19, September 26, October 2, October 9, and October 17 this year.

The charges indicate that Deacon, despite being issued with a community protection notice, did not comply with the requirements to clear and appropriately dispose of refuse and household waste from her address.

The Herald will bring updates on the case as it progresses.

News

Welsh Conservatives urge Labour to scrap ‘family farm tax’

Published

10 hours ago

November 25, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THE WELSH CONSERVATIVES have announced plans to bring forward a Senedd debate next week (Nov 27) calling on the UK Labour Government to abandon its proposed “family farm tax.”

The tax, introduced by the UK Labour Government, is being criticised as a move that will harm Welsh farming, threaten food security, and increase food prices. Alongside the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Farming Scheme and perceived “anti-farming agenda,” critics argue this new tax amounts to a coordinated effort to undermine the future of agriculture in Wales.

Shadow Minister warns of consequences
Ahead of the debate, Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Rural Affairs, James Evans MS, condemned the proposal, stating:
“Labour’s family farm tax will put family farms out of business, threaten our food security, and lead to food prices rising. Only the Welsh Conservatives will stand up for our farmers, and that’s why we’re bringing forward a Senedd motion calling on Labour to reverse this decision. No farmers, no food.”

NFU Cymru expresses alarm
NFU Cymru President, Aled Jones, echoed these concerns, highlighting the widespread opposition from the farming community. Speaking about the impact of the tax on Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief, Jones said:
“Earlier this week, hundreds of farmers from across Wales journeyed to London to meet with their MPs and register their deeply held concerns about these misguided and ill-thought-out reforms.

“The proposals unveiled by the Treasury last month to introduce a tax on the passing on of our family farms to the next generation are a massive added burden. They will leave many farmers without the means, confidence, or incentive to invest in the future of their business.

“NFU Cymru reiterates its call for the UK Government to halt these changes.”

The motion to be debated
The motion, set to be debated in the Senedd, reads:
“To propose that the Senedd:
Calls on the UK Labour Government to reverse its decision to impose a family farm tax on agricultural businesses.”

This debate is expected to attract significant attention, with Welsh farmers and rural communities keenly watching for the outcome.

Community

Internet outage for two villages after exchange box destroyed

Published

12 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Tom Sinclair

RESIDENTS of Clunderwen and Llandissilio have been left without internet access following the destruction of an Openreach exchange box just outside Llandissilio village.

The incident occurred yesterday (Nov 23) when the box was reportedly demolished by a vehicle. The damage has resulted in a complete loss of internet services for the two villages, with repairs expected to take at least a couple of days.

Local residents have expressed frustration over the disruption, as the outage affects home businesses, remote workers, and households relying on internet connectivity for day-to-day tasks.

Openreach engineers have cordoned off the site, and work is ongoing to assess the extent of the damage. A spokesperson for Openreach has been contacted for comment but had not responded by the time of publication.

The vehicle involved in the incident has not yet been identified. Anyone with information about the collision is urged to contact the local police.

With repair timelines unclear, affected residents have called for increased communication from service providers to manage expectations during the outage.

“Bringing the community back online is a priority,” a local resident said. “We’re hoping Openreach can resolve the issue quickly and ensure it doesn’t happen again in future.”