Killer FaceTimed ex as he poured hot water over granddad shouting "burn in hell"
A man who FaceTimed his ex-girlfriend as he poured boiling water over his frail and vulnerable granddad has been jailed for life for beating him to death.
Jack Forde attacked 74-year-old Christopher Martin at the home they shared just months after he stabbed two random strangers.
Judge Anthony Leonard KC said the injuries Forde had inflicted were “truly horrific” as he sentenced him to a minimum term of 10 years and five months.
Family members of the pair wept as the details of the attack on Mr Martin at the home in New Cross, South East London in the early hours of May 28, 2021, were heard in court.
Setting out the facts at the Old Bailey, prosecutor Julian Evans KC said Forde had gone to prison in September 2020 and went to live with his grandfather after his release in the spring of 2021. The defendant had been on remand over two knife attacks on strangers in quick succession and was subject to a supervision order.
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In the first incident, Forde entered a home, picked up a knife, chased the 27-year-old occupant outside and stabbed him repeatedly. He then got on a bus and stabbed a 79-year-old man in the head, leaving him needing up to 40 stitches.
Forde was cleared of the offences at Inner London Crown Court by “reason of insanity” and handed a two-year supervision order. Under the terms of the order, Forde was required to take medication which he failed to do, the court was told.
Mr Evans said Forde was unstable, had epilepsy, drank heavily, and would occasionally think he was his sister. He said: “The defendant had a very close relationship with his grandfather. Mr Martin would give him money and also a phone when he came out of prison and he would drive the defendant around and give him whatever he needed.”
But after taking Forde in, Mr Martin would lock his bedroom door at night and would sleep with a knife under the pillow, the court was told. Days before the killing, Forde had been upset after Mr Martin helped the defendant’s pregnant girlfriend move to a new home.
At around 4am on May 28, the defendant used the victim’s phone to call his former partner via FaceTime video. She saw Mr Martin slumped and bent over in a cupboard and witnessed Forde pour boiling water over his head saying: “Burn in hell.”
Forde was apprehended by police soon afterwards and admitted he had beaten up his grandfather. Mr Martin died from blunt force injuries to the head, chest and abdomen following a sustained assault involving “forceful blows from punches or a heavy blunt object, kicks or stamps or a combination”.
The 25-year-old defendant denied murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility in April.
In a joint victim impact statement, the family said: “Chris had always done whatever he could to help any of us out with whatever was needed. Chris was still in a phase of mourning after having unexpectedly lost his wife of 55 years to Covid some five months before.
“The horrific circumstances and the reality of this disgusting and most cowardly attack on a frail and vulnerable old man has left everyone with broken hearts.”
Mitigating, John Ryder KC said it was “extremely regrettable” that Forde did not receive the support that “should have been available” following his release under the supervision order. He asserted that Forde’s problems stemmed from his birth and childhood, having been “born an addict” due to his mother’s drug abuse in pregnancy.
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The defence barrister said Forde felt continuing remorse for killing the person who, together with his grandmother, he loved the most. The court was told that Forde also had previous convictions of possession of cannabis, resisting a police officer and a public order offence.
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