9 of the most shocking Nottinghamshire crimes committed in the last decade
Nottinghamshire’s police officers and courts investigate crimes and bring those responsible to justice every day, and here we examine some of the most devastating cases from the past decade.
The former Lord Chief Justice of England, Lord Hewart, once said “justice must be not only be done, but must also be seen to be done” – outlining one of the main reasons that news outlets cover court cases.
Our reporters attend the county’s criminal courts – as well as its coroners’ courts – every day; reporting on cases from across Nottinghamshire in order to show justice being done and to shine a spotlight on the lessons that can be learned from a person’s death.
We have been your eyes and ears in court as some of the county’s most reprehensible offenders have been jailed for their heinous crimes.
And here are nine of the worst cases from the past decade.
Our thoughts continue to be with the victims’ loved ones.
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We have been your eyes and ears in court as some of the county’s most reprehensible offenders have been jailed for their heinous crimes.
5. Vulnerable drug user murdered by king pin and his five dealers
A drugs king pin and five of his dealers brutally murdered vulnerable Sutton man Ross Ball as part of a turf war. Mr Ball, who was a heavy drug user, was killed at his flat taken over by the group as a base for their drugs supply operation in Sutton on November 1, 2019. Five men were found guilty of murder and conspiracy to supply class A drugs and The men were sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court last month. Shaun Buckley of Lanchester Way in Solihull, Birmingham, was sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in prison
Jake Honer, of Ludworth Avenue, Birmingham, was sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in prison. Anthony Daw, of Meriden Drive in Chelmsley Wood, Birmingham, was sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in prisonMatthew Jones, of Denby Close in Birmingham, was sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in prison Garry Cooper, of Kingsholme Road in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, was sentenced to a minimum of 29 years in prison. A sixth man, John McDonald, of Mead Close, Birmingham, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to a minimum of 23 years in prison. Connor Sharman, of no fixed address, was convicted of manslaughter and conspiracy to supply class A drugs and sentenced to 21 years in prison.
Pictured are: Shaun Buckley (top left), Garry Cooper (top centre), Anthony Daw (top right), Jake Honer (bottom left), Matthew Jones (bottom centre), John McDonald (bottom right) Photo: Notts Police
6. Boy, 14, murdered his mother after being inspired by Coronation Street plot
Daniel Bartlam was detained for 16 years in April 2012 after being found guilty of murdering his mother Jacqueline Bartlam in 2011 when he was then aged just 14. Nottingham Crown Court heard how after beating Ms Bartlam with a claw hammer, fracturing her face and skull. Her body was then covered in paper and petrol and set alight. She was discovered by fire crews at her home in Redhill, Nottingham. Daniel was said to have been particularly interested in a Coronation Street storyline involving character John Stape in which he murdered a woman with a claw hammer and left her body in the wreckage of a tram crash. Photo: Notts Police
In 2014, Susan and Christopher Edwards were both jailed for a minimum of 25 years for killing Susan's parents, Forest Town couple Patricia and William Wycherley in 1998. They then buried the elderly pair in the rear garden of their Blenheim Close home and spent the next 15 years maintaining the ‘lie’ that the Wycherleys were still alive. The oddball couple netted hundreds of thousands of pounds from the Wycherleys over the next decade and a half, and convinced relatives and the authorities that they were still alive. The Edwards', who were jailed for life at Nottingham Crown Court following an international police hunt, wrote dozens of letters and cards pretending to be the Wycherleys, or explaining their absence through extensive foreign travel. Photo: Notts Police
8. Paedophile committed series of sickening sex crimes against two children
In November 2016, Graham Wardle was jailed for 17 years for 15 sexual offences including rape and sexual assault against two children. found guilty of 15 counts including attempted rape, sexual assault and causing and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. Wardle, of King John’s Road, Clipstone, committed the offences over a number of years – Nottingham Crown Court was told. In 2014, one of his victims was admitted to hospital after having tried to take a number of tablets. At the time she said one of the reasons she’d done this was the sexual abuse she’d suffered from Wardle. Photo: Notts Police