Stephen Farrow (born c. 1964) is an English vagrant who is serving a whole-life tariff for two murders committed in early 2012.

Farrow, whom psychiatrists diagnosed with psychopathic personality disorder, had an obsessive hatred of Christianity, which he attributed to sexual abuse from a priest. He stabbed to death 77-year-old retired teacher Betty Yates in Bewdley, Worcestershire, and 59-year-old Reverend John Suddards in Thornbury, Gloucestershire.

Background

Farrow was hyperactive from a young age, and was sent home from his first day at school. At the age of 10, he set a church altar on fire and watched it burn. At home, he hated his strict father, but had love for his mother. Farrow was a heavy smoker of cannabis.

In 1994, he was convicted of aggravated burglary at the home of an elderly woman in Stourbridge. He told the forensic psychiatrist that he had fantasies of committing rape in home invasions. When it was being decided whether he should serve his punishment in prison or in a mental hospital, he told a psychiatrist from Ashworth Hospital that he had wanted to kill from his teenage years, and had already murdered a backpacker in Devon six years prior.

Although the doctor diagnosed him with psychopathic personality disorder, he theorised that Farrow was exaggerating his claims in order to have a safer place of detention than prison.

During his trial, Farrow admitted to a burglary in Thornbury around New Year in 2012. He pinned a note to the house's kitchen table, reading "Be thankful you did not come back or we would have killed you Christian scum. I... hate God". The threat was not personal, as the occupants were not religious. On New Year's Eve, he texted a friend that "Church will be the first to suffer".

Murders

On 4 January 2012, Farrow broke into Yates' isolated cottage and killed her by stabbing her in the neck. Detectives suspected that she had been beaten with her walking stick before her death. Crimestoppers offered a reward of £10,000 for information on the murder, and new leads were investigated after the crime was featured on BBC One's Crimewatch. Yates and Farrow were acquainted.

On 14 February, Reverend Suddards was killed at his vicarage; Avon and Somerset Police declared that the death was suspicious after his body was found by builders. Suddards, a former lawyer who joined the clergy after a car accident, had only moved to his new parish in June 2011, from Witham, Essex. He had previously spoken of the risks of his occupation, in which he would regularly welcome strangers into his home. After stabbing Suddards to death, Farrow drank the Reverend's beer and watched a DVD, before stealing his mobile phone and watch.

Legal proceedings

On 18 February, police named Farrow as a suspect in Suddards' murder, warning the public not to approach him. He was arrested the following day in Folkestone, Kent, where he was also questioned on Yates' murder, and was charged with both murders and the burglary on 22 February. A week later, a 43-year-old man who had been previously arrested on suspicion of Suddards' death was eliminated from the investigation.

On 29 June, Farrow pleaded not guilty to both murders, but admitted to the burglary. His trial at Bristol Crown Court began on 4 October; he later admitted Suddards' manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. The jury were unanimous in finding him guilty of killing Suddards, and an 11–1 majority found him guilty of the murder of Yates. The judge, who called Farrow "sadistic", sentenced him to spend the rest of his life in prison.

Detective Chief Insepctor Simon Crisp of Avon and Somerset Police stated that tracking Farrow was difficult due to his nomadic lifestyle, but an anonymous phonecall from a woman in Kent had led to his arrest.

After the sentencing, Suddards' sister Hilary Bosworth questioned if the murders could have been avoided if people with Farrow's record of violence were properly dealt with, asking "Do we, as a society, need to think again about how we might better monitor those in the community?"

Legacy of victims

Suddards' parishioners and family set up a Memorial Fund to raise money for causes with which he was involved, including the reintegration of the homeless and scholarships for students of Christian scripture.

Sadistic double killer who stabbed reverend to death in his vicarage will die in prison, European Court of Human Rights rules

• Stephen Farrow killed Reverend John Suddards at his vicarage in February 2012

• Was just six weeks after he bludgeoned Betty Yates and stabbed her three times

• Claimed 'life-means-life' sentence was 'degrading' and breached human rights

• European Court ruled it did not, putting an end to legal saga surrounding them

By James Dunn for MailOnline

January 18, 2017

A sadistic double killer will die in prison, it was ruled, after a European court rejected his claim that a life-sentence with no chance of release breached his human rights.

Stephen Farrow stabbed Reverend John Suddards at his vicarage watched him as he died in February 2012, just weeks after killing retired teacher Betty Yates, 77.

He was handed a double-life sentence, which meant life in prison with no chance of parole, one of just 63 people ever to receive such a term.

But Farrow appealed to the European Court of Human Rights, claiming it breached the article prohibiting 'inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment'.

However, on Tuesday the court rejected his appeal, finally putting an end to the saga surrounding 'life-means-life' sentences brought to the fore by some of Britain's most infamous killers.

Following the ruling Justice Secretary Liz Truss said: 'It is right that those who commit the most heinous crimes spend the rest of their lives behind bars.

'It is also wholly right that judges are able to hand down whole-life sentences to the very worst offenders in our society.'

Farrow, a homeless drifter, killed Rev Studdards in Thornbury, Gloucestershire, six weeks after he also killed 77-year-old retired teacher Betty Yates.

He bludgeoned her with a walking stick before stabbing her four times at her home in Bewdley, Worcestershire.

When he was jailed, he joined the likes of Arthur Hutchinson, one-eyed police killer Dale Cregan and Moors murderer Ian Brady, also given 'life-means-life' sentences.

Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe and bouncer Levi Bellfield, jailed for murdering two young women and trying to murder a third, are also serving the same terms.

Hutchinson was jailed in 1984 for stabbing Basil and Avril Laitner before killing one of their sons after breaking into the couple's home in Sheffield, south Yorkshire.

The triple killer, now 75, also appealed, claiming the whole life sentence amounted to inhuman and degrading treatment as he had no hope of release.

But judges found there had been no violation of article three of the ECHR, setting a precedence for UK courts to continue handing out the sentence.

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights concluded whole-life sentences in the UK can be regarded as compatible with the article.

The court heard how Farrow had a psychological disorder and when he was aged just ten, he set fire to a church altar and stood and watched as it burned.

He was expelled on his first day of school, experienced bullying, fighting, using weapons, setting fires and robbery.

He went on to claim he had been abused as a child by the priests at his boarding school, but was found by psychiatrists to be a pathological liar, with a 'grandiose sense of self-worth'.

Psychopathic drifter who threatened to kill 'Christian scum' before murdering vicar and retired teacher will die in prison

• Stephen Farrow, 48, killed widow Betty Yates, 77, in her riverside cottage

• Six weeks later, he murdered the Reverend John Suddards

• He had texted a friend saying the Church would be 'first to suffer'

• He tortured animals as a child and was expelled from school on first day

By Luke Salkeld for the Daily Mail

November 2, 2012

A psychopathic drifter who murdered a vicar and a retired teacher in their homes was jailed for life yesterday.

God-hating Stephen Farrow, 48, killed widow Betty Yates, 77, in her secluded riverside cottage and then six weeks later murdered the Reverend John Suddards at his vicarage.

Two days before killing Mrs Yates he sent a text message to a friend which said ‘the church will be the first to suffer’.

He had previously travelled to Canterbury with the intention of killing the Archbishop Rowan Williams, but was put off by the level of security.

Yesterday sadistic Farrow, who claimed to be insane and had a long history of violence, was told he would never be released from prison.

Mrs Yates, who lived alone but had an active social life, was struck so hard on the head with a walking stick by the murderer that the wood splintered.

Farrow, a heavy cannabis user, then stabbed her ‘for pleasure’ and left the knife sticking out from a wound in her neck.

Six weeks later he went to the vicarage of Mr Suddards, 59, whom he stabbed seven times.

When the fatally injured vicar said he was going to die, Farrow replied: ‘****ing die then, hurry up and die.’

He then placed a picture of Jesus and a mirror on the floor by Mr Suddards’s body, and placed a Bible opened at the Letter of Jude on his chest.

Other items including gay pornography, party streamers and condoms were scattered around the corpse in an attempt to humiliate the clergyman, who Farrow had initially wanted to crucify.

After killing his second victim, Farrow went into the sitting room of the vicarage, where he watched an Indiana Jones DVD and drank beer.

The court had heard that before he committed the two murders in January and February this year, Farrow, who always carried knives, had burgled a house near to where the vicar lived in Thornbury, near Bristol, over the Christmas period.

There he left a note for the owners which was scribbled in red ink and pinned to the kitchen table with two knives. It read: ‘Be thankful you did not come back or we would have killed you Christian scum. I ****ing hate God.’

He claimed to have been abused by a priest and had an ‘aggressive attitude’ towards the Church, the jury of eight men and four women had been told.

Farrow, who is 6ft 4in and claimed £270 a week in state benefits, admitted the burglary and the manslaughter of the Mr Suddards on the grounds of diminished responsibility but denied murdering Mrs Yates.

But yesterday, after a four-week trial, a jury convicted him of the double murders, and he was sentenced to a whole life tariff in prison.

After almost nine hours of deliberation the jury agreed unanimously on the murder verdict for Mr Suddards. Mr Justice Field accepted a majority verdict of 11-1 for the murder of Betty Yates and told Farrow: ‘In each of these dreadful killings you acted sadistically.’

He continued: ‘To put a knife deep into the body of Betty Yates as she lay helpless on the floor was an act of obvious sadism.

‘She was not threatening you. You put the knife into her to have the pleasure of doing so.’

The judge went on: ‘As for Reverend Suddards, you killed him – having kicked him down, having told him to “****ing hurry up and die” – with seven deep knife wounds.

‘He was helpless. That conduct was clearly sadistic.’

Farrow was linked to the burglary at Vine Cottage in Thornbury by DNA evidence and a boot print, which was also found at Mrs Yates’s home in Bewdley, Worcestershire, on the banks of the River Severn.

He claimed he had simply visited the pensioner in the days before her death and had not killed her.

Then on February 13, he turned up at the home of Mr Suddards and repeatedly stabbed him with a kitchen knife.

After leaving the vicarage early the next morning, Farrow used the dead man’s mobile phone to send a text message which read: ‘RIP Mr Suddards. Pervert.’

Farrow was arrested in Folkestone, Kent, on February 19, after a tip off from a woman with whom he had been staying.

He was assessed by mental health teams who found him to be a pathological liar, with a ‘grandiose sense of self-worth’, who was arrogant, opinionated, and deemed ‘dangerous’ and ‘very dark’.

The prosecution and defence in Farrow’s trial agreed he had a psychopathic personality disorder.

His defence argued that this ‘substantially affected’ his ability to exercise self-control but psychiatrists who gave evidence said being a psychopath would not affect his ability to understand his conduct.

Prosecutor Michael Fitton QC told the court: ‘He is not insane. He knows the difference between right and wrong.

‘He did what he did as a matter of choice.’

Farrow, who had previously threatened to kill an elderly woman and admitted to fantasies about raping girls and bestiality, did not react visibly to his convictions or sentence at Bristol Crown Court.

Afterwards Mr Suddards’s sister Hilary Bosworth said: ‘My brother John was a good man, who dedicated his life to serving God and helping other people. He was a much loved uncle to my three children, and a dear friend to so many, and he is greatly missed.’

Mrs Yates’s children Hazel and David said in a joint statement: ‘We should all be relieved and thankful that Stephen Farrow is off the streets of Britain today.’

They continued: ‘For us it is important that our mum does not become defined by the brutality of her death but is celebrated for the 77 years of her life.

Detective Chief Inspector Simon Crisp from Avon and Somerset police said several forces had been involved in catching Farrow, who was not tied to a particular area of the UK.

He said: ‘There is no doubt in my mind that this swift arrest prevented further offences being committed.’

Diagnosed as a violent psychopath 18 years ago, why was he freed?

By Andy Dolan

Given his sadistic and violent background, it’s difficult to understand how Stephen Farrow was ever allowed out of prison to go on his killing spree.

He was diagnosed with a ‘psychopathic disorder’ after he attacked an elderly woman 18 years ago.

At his trial for the brutal assault on 77-year-old Stella Crow, the court heard he acknowledged he had a very ‘dark side’ and ‘wanted treatment’.

Despite this, and despite reportedly telling prison officers how he fantasised about murdering a husband in front of his wife, then raping and killing her too, he was freed in 2000.

Twelve years later, he claimed the lives of Betty Yates and the Reverend John Suddards.

His sadistic nature was apparent very early on.

As a boy Farrow had been an ‘uncontrollable child’ who liked hurting and killing animals – a tell-tale sign of psychopathy.

By the age of ten he was a prolific firebug. He had a penchant for setting fire to rags and posting them through old ladies’ letterboxes. This soon progressed to the arson of a church altar – the first sign of a hatred of things religious.

Prior to the double murder Farrow appeared at court six times for offences including theft, burglary and deception. He received an eight year jail term for his attack on Mrs Crow.

His first conviction was in 1979, aged 15, for burglary and he was placed on probation for arson just three years later in 1982.

He was handed a partially suspended sentence for theft and deception in 1988 and a 12 month prison term a year later for burglary.

In 1993, he was jailed for four years at Liverpool Crown Court for burglary, theft and deception.

It was while he was on home leave from this sentence that he attacked Mrs Crow with a knife in her home.

Mrs Crow, who like Betty Yates was a widower, suffered two black eyes, slashed hands and a missing tooth in the 1994 attack. Farrow escaped with just a jar of coins totalling £26.

Stafford Crown Court heard he had followed his former landlady into her home in Stourbridge, West Midlands before threatening to kill her dogs and attacking her when she lunged for his knife.

He admitted aggravated burglary and assault and was jailed for eight years in October 1995. He also received a three year concurrent sentence for a burglary at the same house four years earlier.

Andrew Fisher, defending, told the court in mitigation that Farrow ‘acknowledges he has a very dark side’. He said the violent drifter had a psychopathic disorder and ‘wants treatment’.

Police told the Daily Mail yesterday that Farrow, 48, did not have targets in mind for the sick fantasy he relayed to prison officers, but relatives of both Mrs Crow, who died in 2003, and Mrs Yates, still condemned the decision to free him in 2000.

A close friend of Mrs Yates described the information as ‘shocking’ and ‘dreadful’, while her sister-in-law, Janet Roe, said the revelations left her ‘floored’ and ‘very angry’.

Alistair Mackenzie-Crow, 56, a lorry driver and son of Stella Crow, said: ‘Farrow gave my mother a beating and she could have ended up dead like Mrs Yates.

'I don’t think he should ever have been at liberty in the first place – he should have been in prison, not out on leave. But the fact he was then released despite it being recorded that he had psychopathic tendencies seems incredible.’

Farrow was marked out as the black sheep of his family virtually from birth.

The youngest of six children from Dawley, Shropshire, Farrow was the product of an unplanned pregnancy for parents Reg and Doreen.

His mother, the jury in the murder trial heard, ‘understood there to be something very wrong with him’ even as a boy.

‘Stephen never slept properly as a child,’ one family member said. ‘Doreen said she would rather have her first five kids all over again than another one like Stephen as he was so difficult to cope with.’

Despite this, she doted on her youngest child and he became her favourite.

His unruly behaviour ultimately saw him sent to Nash Court, a residential school in Shropshire which catered for disruptive children from all over the country.

Farrow is thought to have spent around two years at the school, returning home for weekend visits. A source said his mother persuaded Mr Farrow to let the wayward child return on a permanent basis, but the arrangement didn’t last and it is thought the killer ended up in care.

Danny Bough, Farrow’s nephew, said he had always known his uncle to be anti-church and Christianity – and believes the killer’s relationship with his parents is key to the way he turned out.

Mr Bough, 28, the son of Farrow’s brother, Reg junior, aged 56, said Farrow was doted on by his mother, but the killer’s ‘violent and aggressive’ father favoured his other son Colin.

‘My gran was pretty religious but my grandfather was strongly against it’, he said. ‘Stephen probably said he hated the church to impress granddad. Stephen forever wanted to prove himself to his father but it always fell on deaf ears.’

Mr Bough, who has taken his stepfather’s name, described the Farrow clan as ‘dysfunctional’.

Farrow’s mother is now thought to be living in a nursing home near Wolverhampton. His father, an ex-Army man who finished his working life manning a canal-side pumping station, died two years ago.

The Farrow family hail from Birmingham, but moved to Shropshire before Farrow was born, then moved to three other addresses in the county before settling in a cottage beside the pumping station in Kingswinford, West Midlands.

Another relative said Farrow blamed his father for turning most of his siblings against him, and admitted ‘punching total strangers on buses and trains because he couldn’t punch his father’.

Farrow was also badly affected by the death of the brother he was closest to, Derek, in a car crash in 1979 at the age of 24. Farrow was staying with Mr Bough’s father for a fortnight as part of the ‘home leave’ scheme to help ease offenders back into the community when he attacked Mrs Crow.

He had been due to return to prison the next day.

While serving his sentence for the attack on Mrs Crow, he sent a niece a crucifix from prison, where he falsely claimed to have contracted cancer.

A source who married in to the Farrow family remembered how ‘mummy’s boy’ Farrow boasted of ‘discovering’ religion during that period.

The source added: ‘Each time he came out of prison, he would claim to have discovered religion and would befriend religious people.

‘I couldn’t stand him. He was a hateful man. He was just a bad ‘un.’

Farrow, a keen fisherman, never married, nor held down a job beyond the odd stint working as a labourer or bailiff.

For much of the three years leading up to the murders of Mrs Yates and Mr Suddard, he lived in a bed and breakfast at Bewdley – a mile from Mrs Yates’s riverside cottage.

Since his arrest, he has taken to sending rambling letters and poems to relatives from his prison cell.

One recent despatch portrays only a creature of darkness, filled with hatred and loathing of the world and thoughts of vengeance.

Farrow writes about a ‘light going off in my world’ – just as it did for his two defenceless victims.

Stephen Farrow 'the psychopath'

BBC.com

November 2, 2012

Stephen Farrow has been the subject of a large number of psychiatric reports throughout his life.

Reports read to Bristol Crown Court during his trial for the murders of the Rev John Suddards and Betty Yates showed he had been hyperactive and subject to outbursts from an early age.

He was found guilty on 2 November of murdering both Mr Suddards, 59, from Thornbury, South Gloucestershire, and Mrs Yates, 77, from Bewdley in Worcestershire.

Two psychiatrists who assessed him for the trial both said he had a psychopathic personality disorder.

The court heard that Farrow, 48, of no fixed address, was sent home from his first day at school for misbehaviour, and that his mother was unable to control him.

When he was 10, he set fire to a church altar and stood and watched as it burned.

Farrow told psychiatrists he was sexually abused by someone connected with the Church while he was a schoolboy.

Violent fantasies

He said he had a longstanding hatred of his father, who he described as a harsh disciplinarian.

On the other hand he said he idolised his mother, who he described as placid, and said she did not criticise him.

When he reached employment age, he was not able to hold down a job.

In 1994, Farrow was convicted for an aggravated burglary at the home of 77-year-old Stella Crow in Stourbridge, West Midlands, during which he claimed to have killed before.

Following the conviction, he was assessed by consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Michael Bond.

Farrow told Dr Bond he was unable to establish any meaningful relationships.

He also said he had developed violent sexual fantasies which involved: raping young girls; and breaking into homes of old women, tying up their husband and raping the woman in front of him, killing the husband in front of the woman, then killing the woman by hanging, suffocation or stabbing.

'Killed backpacker' claim

It was Dr Bond's opinion that Farrow had a psychopathic disorder and was potentially an extremely dangerous individual, if his account of his fantasies was to be believed, and he said it may not be long before he committed serious offences against the occupant of a house.

Another psychiatrist, based at Ashworth high-security hospital, examined Farrow because a question had arisen as to whether he should remain in an ordinary prison for the aggravated burglary or be moved into a hospital environment.

Farrow, who was 31 at the time, told the psychiatrist he had wanted to kill from the age of 13 or 14, and he claimed to have assaulted a disabled boy and a boy of eight when he was aged in his teens.

He also claimed he had killed a backpacker in Devon when he was aged 25.

Farrow said he felt anger towards his whole family, believing they had rejected him.

It was the doctor's opinion that Farrow had a psychopathic disorder. He said Farrow was either exaggerating or desperately seeking help for violent sexual thoughts.

He said Farrow may have been seeking a safe haven rather than his current regime in prison.

Lacked empathy

After being charged with the murder of the Rev Suddards, Farrow told Dr Tim Rogers, a consultant forensic psychiatrist, he met the vicar by chance and that killing him was realising his longstanding fantasy or premonition of killing a Church member.

Dr Rogers told the trial jury it was not possible to be sure when Farrow was telling the truth and when he was lying.

But he said that after assessing Farrow on two separate occasions in recent months, and reading compiled reports spanning several years, he passed the threshold of psychopathy.

He said that even if Farrow was trying to manipulate him, his diagnosis of psychopathy would still stand.

The psychiatrist said Farrow lacked the normal ability to experience empathy and pay regards to feelings, the rights and welfare of others in the usual way.

He said there were 20 traits of a psychopath - when each is given a score of up to two, Farrow scored 31 out of 40.

Stephen Farrow: John Suddards and Betty Yates murderer jailed for life

BBC.com

November 2, 2012

A homeless drifter who murdered a vicar and a retired teacher has been jailed for the rest of his life.

Stephen Farrow stabbed to death the Rev John Suddards, 59, in Thornbury, near Bristol, and Betty Yates, 77, at her home, in Bewdley, Worcestershire.

The defendant, 48, who Bristol Crown Court heard was obsessed with religion, was convicted by a jury of the murders.

Describing the "horrific" killings, Judge Mr Justice Field told Farrow he had "acted sadistically".

Farrow had admitted the manslaughter of Mr Suddards on the grounds of diminished responsibility but denied his murder. He denied stabbing Mrs Yates.

He had refused to leave his cell for parts of the trial, despite a jury request to attend so they could hear his evidence. However, he was in the dock for the verdicts.

Farrow had been diagnosed with a psychopathic personality disorder and his barrister argued it "substantially affected" his ability to exercise self-control.

'Christian scum'

But by finding him guilty of murder, the jury found he knew what he was doing when he stabbed both victims.

Speaking outside court, Mr Suddards' sister Hilary Bosworth said the deaths had "raised many questions about how things might have been different and what might have been done to avert these tragedies".

She questioned whether the country does enough to ensure psychopaths with a known history of violence are not "left roaming around at large ready to attack someone".

"Do we, as a society, need to think again about how we might better monitor those in the community?" she asked.

Mrs Yates's daughter Hazel Costello said: "For our mother there is now some public justice, but our personal loss remains raw and will continue.

"For us it is important that our mum does not become defined by the brutality of her death but is celebrated for the 77 years of her life."

Farrow had claimed he had been sexually abused at boarding school by a priest, and that he wanted to murder the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The murder of Mr Suddards at his vicarage was the culmination of a two-month reign of terror in which Farrow killed Mrs Yates and threatened to kill "Christian scum".

The trial had heard that Farrow sent a chilling text message to a friend on New Year's Eve last year, warning her that the "Church will be the first to suffer".

DNA evidence

Farrow told a psychiatrist he had intended to crucify the clergyman and his death was part of his desire to "fulfil his fantasy".

Mr Suddards was stabbed seven times and suffered wounds to his shoulder, chest and abdomen.

He was discovered on the morning of 14 February lying on his back in the hallway of his vicarage and surrounded by pornography, party poppers, a condom wrapper, underwear, a canvas of Jesus Christ and a mirror.

A copy of the New Testament - open to the Letter of Jude - was found on Mr Suddards' chest with an A3-sized calendar of a semi-naked male model covering the lower half of his body.

The judge told Farrow he was sure he had done this "to humiliate the reverend and to desecrate his memory".

'Sadistic killer'

After fatally stabbing Mr Suddards on the night of 13 February, Farrow stayed at his victim's home to watch an Indiana Jones DVD and drink beer.

DNA evidence linked the heavy cannabis user to the murders of Mr Suddards and widow Mrs Yates, who was found dead at her cottage on 4 January, having been killed two days earlier.

Mrs Yates's body was found lying in her hallway with her head resting on a cushion.

She had been beaten with a walking stick and stabbed four times in the head, with the knife still embedded in her neck.

Mr Suddards and Mrs Yates were both killed weeks after a burglary at Vine Cottage, near the vicarage in Thornbury.

Owners Alan and Margaret Pinder spent Christmas and new year away and returned to find a note pinned to a table by two knives, which read: "Be thankful you didn't come back or we would have killed you, Christian scum. I hate God."

Farrow pleaded guilty to the burglary at an earlier hearing.

The judge told Farrow: "I am satisfied that in your case a whole life sentence is an appropriate sentence in each of these dreadful, horrific killings.

"In my judgement, you acted sadistically."

'Remorseless'

He said: "To put a knife deep into the body of Betty Yates as she lay helpless on the floor, having arranged her head on the pillow, was an act of absolute sadism.

"You did that because you wanted to. She wasn't threatening you. You put that knife in her to have the pleasure of doing it."

The judge said Farrow had killed Mr Suddards having "kicked him down" and had told him to "hurry up and die".

"He was helpless. That conduct was clearly sadistic."

Det Ch Insp Simon Crisp, from Avon and Somerset police, said Farrow was a "sadistic and remorseless killer".

He said: "He was a drifter who had no ties to any particular area of the country which made him a difficult individual to investigate.

"He left precious few clues despite the nature of his offences. However once we recognised him as a suspect, we also recognised that detaining him before he went on to commit further offences was absolutely vital."

He said he was grateful for the help of the public, adding: "It was a direct result of one such call that allowed us to arrest Farrow in Folkestone, Kent, in February earlier this year. That person knows who she is and I would offer my sincere thanks to her."

Sian Sullivan, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "The sentence today reflects the brutal nature of these crimes and the devastating effect they had on the victims' families and the community in which they each played such an active role."

The jury was unanimous in finding Farrow guilty of the vicar's murder, and found him guilty of murdering Mrs Yates by a majority of 11 to one.

Timeline: Murders of Betty Yates and Rev John Suddards

BBC.com

November 2, 2012

Separate murder investigations were begun in Worcestershire and Thornbury, near Bristol, in early 2012.

Retired teacher Betty Yates and parish priest John Suddards had both been stabbed to death in their homes, within days of each other.

Drifter Stephen Farrow was later charged with killing them both.

A jury at Bristol Crown Court has now convicted the 48-year-old of murdering Mr Suddards, 59, from Thornbury, South Gloucestershire, and Mrs Yates, 77, from Bewdley in Worcestershire.

The following shows the key events in the investigations in the case against Farrow:

4 January 2012

A murder investigation begins after the body of an elderly woman is found by police at a cottage in Bewdley, Worcestershire.

6 January 2012

The victim is named as 77-year-old retired teacher Betty Yates. A post-mortem examination reveals she died of a stab wound after she was attacked with a knife.

9 January 2012

Police say a knife found near Mrs Yates's cottage is believed to be the murder weapon.

12 January 2012

An inquest is opened into Mrs Yates's death and it is revealed she had been stabbed in the neck.

16 January 2012

Detectives investigating the murder say they think Mrs Yates was assaulted with her walking stick before she was stabbed.

20 January 2012

Two anonymous letters are sent to police investigating the murder, giving them two new lines of inquiry. Officers appeal for the authors to come forward.

23 January 2012

Crimestoppers offers a £10,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of Mrs Yates's killer.

26 January 2012

Police receive "a handful" of calls after an appeal on BBC One's Crimewatch. Officers say they are now looking for the owner of a silver Audi estate seen nearby on 2 January.

30 January 2012

The family of Betty Yates appeal for help to find her killer.

4 February 2012

Police arrest a man in connection with the murder of Mrs Yates. He is later released on bail.

8 February 2012

Police release descriptions of two men they want to speak to who were seen separately on 2 January between Riverside Caravan Park and the cottage where Mrs Yates lived.

14 February 2012

Police say they are treating the death of a vicar, the Reverend John Suddards, at his vicarage in Thornbury, near Bristol, as suspicious.

15 February 2012

A 43-year-old man is arrested on suspicion of the murder of Mr Suddards. A post-mortem examination reveals he died from multiple stab wounds.

17 February 2012

Police appeal to trace a man seen sat outside Mr Suddards' church between 18:00 GMT and 20:00 GMT on 13 February. Hundreds of people take part in a church service to mark the death of the vicar.

18 February 2012

Stephen Farrow, 47, is named as a suspect in the murder of Mr Suddards. A 43-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder is released on police bail.

19 February 2012

Farrow is arrested in Folkestone, Kent. Avon and Somerset Police say they are working with West Mercia Police to explore any links to the murder of Mrs Yates.

22 February 2012

Farrow is charged with murdering both Mr Suddards and Mrs Yates. He is also charged with the burglary of a property in Thornbury between 21 December and 3 January.

29 February 2012

The first man to be arrested on suspicion of the murder of Mr Suddards is eliminated from the police investigation.

29 June 2012

Farrow pleads not guilty to murdering Mr Suddards and Mrs Yates. He admits the burglary charge.

4 October 2012

Farrow goes on trial at Bristol Crown Court for the murder of Mr Suddards and Mrs Yates. The jury is told he has admitted the manslaughter of Mr Suddards.

2 November 2012

Farrow found guilty of murdering both Mr Suddards, 59, from Thornbury, South Gloucestershire, and Mrs Yates, 77, from Bewdley in Worcestershire.

Stephen Farrow murder trial: Accused's 'rape fantasies'

BBC.com

October 23, 2012

A man accused of the murders of a vicar and a retired teacher was a "very dark" person who fantasised about bestiality and raping girls, a court has heard.

Stephen Farrow denies murdering Betty Yates, 77, and the Rev John Suddards, but admits the vicar's manslaughter.

Bristol Crown Court heard he had been an "uncontrollable child" who shot dead a swan and killed people's pets.

Dr Tim Rogers, a consultant forensic psychiatrist, said he demonstrated many of the characteristics of a psychopath.

"There is no doubt in my mind that he passes the threshold for a diagnosis of psychopathy," he said.

Mr Suddards, 59, was found dead at his vicarage in Thornbury, near Bristol, in February. Mrs Yates was found dead at her home in Worcestershire in January.

Farrow's barrister, Peter Gower QC, told the jury his mother had "understood there to be something wrong with him as a child".

The court was told when he was 10 he had set fire to a church altar and stood and watched as it burned. As a child he had also experienced bullying, fighting, using weapons and robbery.

'Not insane'

During cross-examination by Michael Fitton QC, prosecuting, Dr Rogers said he did not believe Farrow to be mentally ill.

"If I understand your evidence correctly, it is that he has a long-standing personality disorder, but that he is not insane?" Mr Fitton said. "Yes," Dr Rogers replied.

"Our case is that he was fully conscious and aware of what he was doing to Reverend Suddards," Mr Fitton said. "Yes," Dr Rogers said.

Dr Rogers told the court: "What we do know about psychopaths and psychopathy is that they lack the behavioural controls that other people do.

"They are compulsive, they don't have empathy that other healthy people do. What I am trying to get across is the coldness and callousness."

Farrow, 48, of no fixed address, was not present in court having refused to leave Long Lartin prison in Worcestershire where he is being held.

Stephen Farrow murder trial: Vicar told to 'die and hurry up'

BBC.com

October 22, 2012

A vicar who was found stabbed to death at his home was told to "die and hurry up", a court has heard.

Stephen Farrow denies murdering Betty Yates, 77, and the Rev John Suddards, but admits the vicar's manslaughter.

Mr Suddards, 59, was found dead at his vicarage in Thornbury, near Bristol, in February. Mrs Yates was found dead at her home in Worcestershire in January.

A psychiatrist told Bristol Crown Court Farrow had described to him the killing of the vicar in graphic detail.

'Inner voices'

Dr Tim Rogers, a consultant psychiatrist, said he had assessed Farrow on two occasions and that he had a personality disorder.

He said this disorder meant Farrow was suffering from an abnormality of mental function at the time of killing Mr Suddards.

Dr Rogers said Farrow told him he had bolted himself in a hut for three or four days smoking cannabis, which made him more paranoid, and that the killing happened on Farrow's fourth visit to the vicarage.

Reading from his notes in court, he said Farrow told him: "It was there in my head. I spent five days preparing when to go, what buses to catch.

"It was a Monday and I arrived in Thornbury at exactly the time I thought.

"I knew that the reverend was in at the time and the reverend had opened the door."

Dr Rogers also said that Farrow was hearing "inner voices" and had accused the vicar of abusing him.

'Fantasy or premonition'

"He said he had made a mistake of what he had intended to say," he said.

"What he had intended to say: 'Instead of having abused me, people like you have abused people like me'."

Farrow told Dr Rogers: "I watched a man die - I have never seen that before - life ebbing away.

"It was always like it was meant to happen. He didn't fight, argue or nothing.

"My head wasn't there. I kicked the reverend to keep him down."

Dr Rogers said Farrow told him he had stabbed the vicar to keep him down and then told him to "die and hurry up".

"Mr Farrow said it was always his intention of fulfilling his fantasy or premonition, except for one aspect - of crucifying the reverend to the floor," he said.

"He told me that he had the tools but he didn't do this," added Dr Rogers.

The court also heard how Farrow had watched DVDs and drank beer after Mr Suddards died.

Dr Rogers added that Farrow had all the "hallmarks of a psychopath".

"I find that abnormal in the extreme that anyone could do what they had done and sit in that person's home and behave in an entirely calm way," he said.

The trial continues.

Stephen Farrow murder trial: Accused refused to answer police questions

BBC.com

October 17, 2012

A man accused of the murder of a vicar and a retired teacher refused to answer any questions following his arrest, a court has heard.

Stephen Farrow denies murdering Betty Yates, 77, and the Rev John Suddards but admits the latter's manslaughter.

Mr Suddards, 59, was found dead at his vicarage in Thornbury, near Bristol, in February. Mrs Yates was found dead at her home in Worcestershire in January.

Mr Farrow repeatedly answered "no comment" when questioned by police.

Detectives spent three days questioning him following his arrest.

Police launched a nationwide search for Mr Farrow after the body of Mr Suddards was found on 14 February at his vicarage.

Mr Farrow was arrested five days later at a house in Folkestone, Kent, on suspicion of murdering Mr Suddards.

Later that day, he was arrested on suspicion of murdering Mrs Yates at her home in January, and of committing a separate burglary at another property in Thornbury over the Christmas and new year period.

He was taken back to Bristol and was first interviewed on 20 February at Trinity Road police station and again over the next two days.

'Forensically linked'

Det Con Wayne Sumsion told jurors at Bristol Crown Court that Mr Farrow was told he was "forensically linked" to the three addresses.

He said: "Thereafter Stephen Farrow answered 'no comment' to every question he was asked."

The following day, Mr Farrow told police during his next interview that he felt "kind of strange".

He said: "I just feel different today. I don't know what's wrong."

Mr Sumsion told jurors: "He said he felt okay to continue. Thereafter he answered no comment to every question he was asked."

On the evening of 22 February, Mr Farrow was charged with the murders of Mr Suddards, Mrs Yates and the burglary in Thornbury.

Mr Farrow was not present in court, having refused to leave Long Lartin prison in Worcestershire where he is being held.

The trial continues.

Stephen Farrow murder trial: Accused sent 'Church will suffer' text

BBC.com

October 16, 2012

A man accused of the murder of a vicar and a retired teacher texted a friend the message "the Church will be the first to suffer", a court has heard.

Stephen Farrow denies murdering Betty Yates, 77, and the Rev John Suddards but admits the latter's manslaughter.

Mr Suddards, 59, was found dead at his vicarage in Thornbury, near Bristol, in February. Mrs Yates was found dead at her home in Worcestershire in January.

Farrow texted Michaela Rowsell on New Year's Day, the jury heard.

He warned her to watch the news and told her she "never knew just how disturbed I am".

Mrs Rowsell told Bristol Crown Court that she was "petrified" after receiving the message and phoned the police.

'Aggressive and assertive'

She told jurors she had met Farrow in spring 2011 when she was helping out the homeless at an evangelical church in Bridport, Dorset.

Mrs Rowsell told the court she had seen Farrow be violent towards other homeless men and suffered mood swings.

Asked about Farrow's attitude to the Church, Mrs Rowsell said it was "pretty disgusting really. I would say he uses and abuses them".

The court also heard evidence from the Rev Canon Andrew Evans, the vicar of St Mary's Church in Bridport.

He said Farrow would often become "aggressive and assertive" in his attitude towards the Church and could not understand why any church would not give him money.

Mr Evans said on one occasion he felt threatened by Farrow.

He said: "This was when his benefits had been stopped and he had hoped to get some money to put a £100 deposit down on a flat in Lyme Regis.

"He asked for the £100 for the flat. He asked on several occasions and each time more assertively."

Farrow was not present in court having refused to leave Long Lartin prison in Worcestershire where he is being held.

The trial continues.

Accused double murderer told mental health nurse he wanted to kill Archbishop of Canterbury and CRUCIFY clergyman whose stabbed body was found at vicarage

• Stephen Farrow, 48, is accused of murdering Reverend John Suddards, 59

• Incident happened at vicarage in Thornbury, Gloucestershire, in February

• Decided to 'leave bag with hammer and nails behind and stab vicar instead'

• Also 'went to Canterbury but decided killing Archbishop would be too hard'

• He is also accused of killing Betty Yates, 77, in Worcestershire, in January

By Mark Duell - DailyMail.co.uk

October 16, 2012

A 48-year-old man being tried over a double murder had intended to use a hammer and nails to crucify a vicar and also planned to kill the Archbishop of Canterbury, a court heard today.

Stephen Farrow is accused of murdering Reverend John Suddards, 59, at his vicarage in Thornbury, Gloucestershire, in February and ex-teacher Betty Yates, 77, in Bewdley, Worcestershire, in January.

He allegedly told a nurse that he thought foreign conflicts were linked to the second coming of Jesus Christ and had travelled to Canterbury to see if he could kill Archbishop Rowan Williams.

Mental health nurse Richard Evans told Bristol Crown Court that Farrow said he had planned to crucify the vicar - but left a bag with a hammer and nails in Eastbourne and stabbed him instead.

Mr Evans assessed Farrow following his first court appearance at North Avon Magistrates' Court in February, charged with the two murders. ‘He talked about the second coming of Christ,’ he said.

‘He talked about some conflicts across the world and linked to this to the second coming of Christ. He said this would not all happen in 2012 but 2012 was the beginning of this process.

‘He said he had travelled to Canterbury to see whether he could kill Rowan Williams, the Archbishop. He told me that the security was astronomical and (it) would be difficult to achieve.’

Farrow, who claimed to be ‘prophetic’, told Mr Evans he had been to St Mary's Church two or three times previously and had gone there on the evening of February 13 for some food, the nurse said.

He said the vicar was ‘reluctant’ to let him in, so he waited outside while he was prepared some food.

‘He knew he was going to do it,’ Mr Evans said. ‘He then accused the vicar of sexually abusing him. He said the vicar didn't deny those allegations.’

Mr Evans said Farrow was not accusing Mr Suddards of sexually abusing him but priests and the church in general. Farrow told him what happened next: ‘I then stabbed the vicar.’

The nurse added: ‘Without prompting he gave a description of the incident. He told me he watched him die and there was a significant amount of blood.’

Farrow then said he placed a mirror and a canvas picture of Christ next to Mr Suddards's body before spending some time ‘trashing’ the vicarage to make it look like a burglary.

‘He acknowledged that the killing of John Suddards is likely to be clinical and reminiscent of a psychopath,’ Mr Evans said.

The defendant also told the nurse he had written the word ‘help’ in blue ink behind a picture frame in the lounge of the vicarage and was not sure if the police had found it.

Mr Evans told the jury that Farrow also admitted killing Mrs Yates at her cottage in Bewdley – but had not done it ‘on January 1 because it was a Sunday and he had killed her the following day’.

He also admitted that had he not been arrested he would have committed further offences.

The court also heard that Farrow told doctors he had been diagnosed with Severe Dangerous Personality Disorder (SDPD) when serving a prison sentence for aggravated burglary in 2001.

He also said he had been diagnosed with cancer lymphoma in jail but had not seen a doctor since.

Meanwhile the court heard that Farrow sent a text message to a friend warning her to watch the news as the ‘church will be the first to suffer’.

He sent the text on New Year’s Eve last year to Michaela Rowsell, known to friends as Ky, who told Bristol Crown Court that she was ‘petrified’ after receiving the message and phoned the police.

The text, timed at 8.25pm, said: ‘Ky, you don’t give a s**t and never have. So as you reject me you will suffer. I will be just around the corner and you will never know when I will be there.

‘I’ve already started my work and won’t stop until I’m caught. You don’t and never knew just how disturbed I am. You will soon know the truth and the church will be the first to suffer.

‘And I don’t lie about what is about to happen. As I say it was always going to end like this. I’m surprised the police have not been to see you but they soon will.

‘So f**k you, the church and the system. You can all go to hell. Watch the news piggy because you will know it was me.’

An earlier text, sent by Farrow at 7.57pm that night said: ‘Piggy, please answer. Even though it’s all gone wrong for me you’ve been good to me for so long.

‘I’m sorry for all what I’ve said and done but please talk to me because I am a long way from you and just want you to make me happy by saying something. If not, happy new year.’

Mrs Rowsell, whom Farrow nicknamed ‘piggy’ after the Muppet Show character, first met him in spring 2011 when she went to an evangelical church where she lived in Bridport, Dorset, to help with the homeless.

She told jurors their relationship was purely platonic and denied it was any more than that. But she said Farrow fancied her and would orchestrate meetings at the church in order to be alone with her.

‘He’d say things like “I love you” and “I miss you”,’ Mrs Rowsell told the court. ‘I would make up any excuse just to get away from him.’

Mrs Rowsell told the court she had seen Farrow be violent towards other homeless men and suffered mood swings.

She said Farrow used two mobile phones and she had both numbers in her contacts as ‘Steve Mad 1’ and ‘Steve Mad 2’. Asked why by Edward Burgess, prosecuting, she replied: ‘I thought he was.’

She was also quizzed about his attitude towards the church. ‘Pretty disgusting really. I would say he uses and abuses them,’ she said.

Meanwhile, Reverend Canon Andrew Evans, the vicar of St Mary’s Church in Bridport, told the court he first met Farrow in the spring of 2011 when he came to the church with another homeless man.

He said he saw Farrow regularly over the next year and last spoke to him in January. ‘Very often religion would come up. He would bring that up rather than me,' he added.

‘He would often become aggressive and assertive in his attitude towards the church and he could not understand why any church would not give him money. We have a clear rule that we do not give money under any circumstances.’

Once he turned up at St Mary’s demanding cash. ‘He was generally aggressive in his manner towards the church,’ Mr Evans said. ‘Only on one occasion did I feel particularly threatened by him.

‘This was when his benefits had been stopped and he had hoped to get some money to put a £100 deposit down on a flat in Lyme Regis.

‘He asked for the £100 for the flat. He asked on several occasions (during the same conversation) and each time more assertively.’

Mr Evans said he had warned one homeless man to stay away from Farrow because of his mood swings.

‘When he was not around the other homeless men tended to come and he would be a topic of conversation,’ he said. ‘They would be scared of him and his mood swings.

‘When a new homeless man arrived I suggested he keep a safe distance from Mr Farrow.’

Jurors also heard evidence from police surgeon Dr Naveed Tippu, who examined Farrow at Margate police station on the morning of February 19 this year following his arrest.

In a written statement Dr Tippu said that Farrow told him that a priest had sexually abused him as a child at a boarding school.

‘He said he did not have any physical problems but was diagnosed with severe personality disorder and had been in special units in prison where he was examined by psychiatrists,’ Dr Tippu said.

‘He said he had been seeking help for his thoughts but got no help. He said he was physically and mentally abused by a priest at a boarding school aged 11. He said he was fumbled and touched but not penetrated.’

Dr Tippu said Farrow told him he was not currently receiving medication for any psychiatric condition but had been prescribed tablets in the past.

‘He denied hearing voices but said he was paranoid of people and phone hacking,’ Dr Tippu said. ‘He admitted to smoking cannabis daily and he denied taking other illicit drugs.

‘He said his aggression towards me was due to what happened to him in the past. On examination he was calm and co-operative. His speech, thought process and mood were normal.

‘There was no evidence of psychosis and he understood the reason for his arrest.’

Farrow was again not present in court having refused to leave Long Lartin prison in Worcestershire where he is being held.

He denies two counts of murder but had admitted Mr Suddards’s manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Farrow has also pleaded guilty to a burglary of a cottage in Thornbury over the Christmas and New Year period where a note was left threatening to kill ‘Christian scum’.

Stephen Farrow 'buzzing' over murder investigation

BBC.com

October 15, 2012

A man accused of the murder of a vicar and a retired teacher told police he was "buzzing" as a result of being investigated, a court has heard.

Stephen Farrow denies murdering Betty Yates, 77, and Rev John Suddards, 59, but admits the latter's manslaughter.

He was found dead at his vicarage in Thornbury, near Bristol, in February. Mrs Yates was found dead at her home in Worcestershire in January.

The court heard Farrow told detectives they were "on the wrong track".

Det Con Michael Stone and Det Con John Shanahan, supervised the removal of Farrow's clothing for forensic examination following his arrest in Kent, Bristol Crown Court was told.

Two knives

The court was told Farrow had said to the officers: "There is no way you will find anything on me.

"I just want to find out what you think I have done. I am buzzing off this."

The court also heard from Dr Amanda Jeffery, a Home Office registered forensic pathologist, who said that Mr Suddards had been stabbed seven times.

He had suffered wounds to his shoulder, chest, abdomen and neck.

Dr Jeffery said one of the stab wounds to Mr Suddards neck had penetrated the spinal cord and would have been fatal without immediate medical attention.

The court was told two bloodstained kitchen knives were recovered; one from the scene and the other when Mr Farrow was arrested in Kent five days later.

Dr Jeffery said she was unable to say which of the knives had been used in the attack.

"The knives are very similar dimensions so it could be either or both," she told the court.

Farrow was not present in court having refused to leave Long Lartin prison in Worcestershire where he is being held.

Stephen Farrow murder trial: Vicar's blood 'found on accused's boot'

BBC.com

October 12, 2012

The trial of a man accused of the murder of the Reverend John Suddards has heard how spots of blood on his clothing matched those of the vicar.

The court was told blood was found on a walking boot belonging to Stephen Farrow, 48, after he was arrested in Folkestone, Kent.

Mr Farrow admits the manslaughter of Mr Suddards but denies his murder.

He is also on trial at Bristol Crown Court for the murder of Betty Yates at her home in Worcestershire in January.

'DNA found'

Forensic expert Claire Morse showed the court a pair of leather walking boots which had been found on Mr Farrow when he was arrested at the house in Blackpool Road, Folkestone.

Ms Morse told the jury blood on the sole of his left boot matched that of Mr Suddards.

Two other bits of clothing - a pair of over-trousers and a dark green waterproof jacket - had blood which matched the vicars.

The court was also told Mr Farrow's DNA had been found on the cap of an empty beer bottle found at the vicarage in Thornbury, near Bristol.

It was also revealed that the DVDs found beside the body of the vicar contained material of a homosexual nature.

The jury were also shown a series of images of Mr Farrow from CCTV cameras in Thornbury.

He is seen getting off a bus on the 13 February - the day before it is claimed he murdered Mr Suddards.

On the morning of 14 February he is also spotted getting onto a another bus in the town's centre some time after 18:00 GMT, bound for Bristol.

Mr Farrow, of no fixed address, has pleaded guilty to burgling another property, Vine Cottage, also in Thornbury, over the Christmas and New Year period, where a note was found threatening to kill "Christian scum".

Mr Farrow has a severe personality disorder, which the prosecution accepts.

The trial continues.

Stephen Farrow murder trial: Workmen's 'shock' at vicar body find

BBC.com

October 11, 2012

A parishioner and two workmen have told a jury of their shock at discovering the body of a vicar stabbed to death.

They found the Reverend John Suddards lying on his back in the hallway of his vicarage in Thornbury, South Gloucestershire, in February.

Stephen Farrow, 48, admits the manslaughter of Mr Suddards but denies murder.

He is also on trial at Bristol Crown Court for the murder of Betty Yates at her home in Worcestershire in January.

The court heard Tim Giles, secretary of St Mary's parochial church council, had gone to the vicarage with a spare key to let plumber Richard Gough and builder Karl Hardman into the property.

The two workmen had failed to get an answer from the vicarage on the morning of 14 February.

Mr Giles said he went to Mr Suddards's home and found all the curtains of the downstairs windows had been drawn.

He unlocked the front door with a spare key and could see in the dimly lit hallway the body of Mr Suddards.

Reflection of Christ

"I could see that his arms were folded upwards towards his body," Mr Giles said in a statement read to the jury.

"I felt he was dead. He was very cold. I said 'I think he's dead' and one of the workmen said, I think, 'Are you sure?'

"I could see blood on the floor. I think I also saw a knife, nine to 10 inches overall, with a six inch blade and handle."

Mr Giles said he went immediately outside and told the two workmen to ring the emergency services.

He added: "I felt very shocked by now. I think the two men went inside the vicarage but only a few steps."

Mr Hardman said: "I heard Tim say 'Something's wrong. He's dead, he's cold'."

He said he then went inside the vicarage and saw what he described as a cloth or piece of paper covering the lower half of Mr Suddards's body, and a bible on his chest.

His colleague Mr Gough added: "I saw Tim come stumbling out saying 'He's dead'."

He said he and Mr Hardman went inside and then came out again.

"I was really shocked by what I saw and immediately went back outside and the emergency services started to arrive, so I just stepped back and got out of the way."

Bloodstained statue

The jury was shown various items recovered from Mr Suddards's home including a bible, canvas print of Jesus Christ, a mirror, a calendar of a male model and a statue of Madonna and child.

Forensic scientist Claire Morse said the black leather-bound bible was found on the vicar's chest and his lower body - from waist to ankles - was covered by an A3-sized calendar of a partially-clothed young man.

Propped up in the hallway against the walls were the 3 sq ft framed print of Christ and the 4ft by 3ft wooden framed rectangular mirror.

Miss Morse said if you crouched down next to Mr Suddards's body you could see a reflection of Jesus Christ in the mirror.

There was also party popper string on the vicar's body, a piece of apple was recovered from between the clergyman's legs and an unopened condom was found nearby.

The knife was found by Mr Suddards's left elbow and two pairs of g-string underwear by his left hip.

Miss Morse said various pieces of food had been scattered around the hallway, including bread and a broken plate and upturned bowl, and splashes of green soup on the walls and on Mr Suddards's body.

The blood splattering in the hallway indicated that Mr Suddards had been hit while he was likely to have been kneeling down.

The two kitchen windows had been covered by a green blanket and Mr Suddards's black cloak.

Both the kitchen and the vicar's study had been ransacked and in his bedroom a small bloodstained statue depicting Madonna and child was found.

Farrow, of no fixed address, has pleaded guilty to burgling another property, Vine Cottage, also in Thornbury, over the Christmas and New Year period, where a note was found threatening to kill "Christian scum".

Farrow has a severe personality disorder, which the prosecution accepts.

The trial continues.

Stephen Farrow murder trial: Footprints 'match boots'

BBC.com

October 9, 2012

Footprints similar in shape and size to boots seized from a man accused of murdering a retired teacher were found in her home, a court has heard.

Stephen Farrow, 48, denies the murders of Betty Yates, in Worcestershire, and the Reverend John Suddards, in South Gloucestershire.

Bristol Crown Court heard that after stabbing 77-year-old Mrs Yates, her killer stayed at her home to tidy up.

A walking stick used in the attack was placed back in its holder.

Mrs Yates was found with a knife still in her neck at her cottage in Bewdley, on 4 January, having been killed two days earlier.

Farrow admits the manslaughter of Mr Suddards in Thornbury, on the grounds of diminished responsibility, but denies murder, between 12 and 15 February.

He has pleaded guilty to burgling another property, Vine Cottage, also in Thornbury, over the Christmas and New Year period, where a note was found threatening to kill "Christian scum".

The jury heard evidence from a senior forensic investigator for West Mercia Police and a forensic scientist who studied footmarks found at the three locations.

Blood-stained book

Forensic scientist Padraig O'Shea said footprints found on an exercise mat taken from Mrs Yates' home showed a similar "complex block pattern" to the soles of a pair of boots taken from Farrow on his arrest.

A footprint found on a magazine at the scene of the burglary at Vine Cottage matched the shape and size of the boots.

Senior forensic investigator Glen Chard said Mrs Yates's house was "generally very, very neat and tidy".

Investigators found a damaged walking stick which was placed upside down in a holder containing about nine or 10 other walking sticks, jurors were told.

Blood matching that of Mrs Yates was found on the walking stick.

A wicker basket was also found to contain a number of blood-stained items such as a medication packet.

Mr Chard said this suggested the basket was either knocked over and tidied up, or the items were on the floor and had been gathered together into the basket.

A book with blood splattering was also found placed on Mrs Yates's desk in her study.

Farrow, of no fixed address, was not in court to hear their evidence having declined to come to court, jurors were told.

The trial continues.

Stephen Farrow murder trial: Defendant 'seen' near victim's home

BBC.com

October 8, 2012

A couple walking along a river bank near to where a retired teacher was murdered saw a man "on a mission" the day she was killed, a court has heard.

Julia Sealey and Linda Probert described seeing a man walking past them - away from Betty Yates's home in Bewdley, Worcestershire.

Bristol Crown Court heard Mrs Probert went on to identify defendant Stephen Farrow as the man that had passed them.

Farrow, 48, denies killing Mrs Yates and also denies murdering a vicar.

He has admitted the manslaughter of the Reverend John Suddards, in Thornbury, South Gloucestershire, on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Mrs Yates, 77, was found stabbed at her cottage on 4 January, having been killed two days earlier.

Mrs Sealey told the court they had been taking photos of Mrs Yates' "picturesque" Riverside Cottage while out walking on 2 January.

She said: "There were lots of people who walked past us, but there was one chap in particular who walked past who seemed to be on a mission."

'Defendant not present'

The couple attended an identification procedure during which they were separately shown nine photographs of different men.

Mrs Sealey was unable to say whether any of the pictures were of the man she saw on 2 January, but Mrs Probert identified a picture of Farrow.

Farrow, of no fixed address, refused to come up from the cells to sit in court on Monday.

Trial judge Mr Justice Field told jurors it was Farrow's right not to be present and they should not hold this against him.

Mr Justice Field said: "You will see the defendant is not present in court. In fact he is in the building and has been seen by his lawyers.

"He is represented by experienced counsel and I am content the trial can continue in his absence.

"I will give you further directions about this in due course," he added.

Farrow admits burgling another property, Vine Cottage, near Bristol, over the Christmas and New Year period.

He is alleged to have murdered the vicar between 12 and 15 February.

The trial continues.

Stephen Farrow murder trial: Kill threats 'made before'

BBC.com

October 5, 2012

A man accused of murdering a vicar and a former school teacher had previously made threats to kill an elderly woman, a court has been told.

Stephen Farrow, 48, admits the manslaughter of the Reverend John Suddards on the grounds of diminished responsibility but denies his murder.

He also denies killing Betty Yates who was found stabbed in Worcestershire.

Bristol Crown Court heard Mr Farrow had admitted in 1994 to an aggravated burglary in the West Midlands.

The jury was told the owner of the house in Stourbridge, Stella Crow - then aged 77 but who has since died - opened her front door to a man, "in his 20s", who initially said he was meeting someone at the property.

He subsequently followed Ms Crow into the home where he produced a knife with a "12-inch blade", the court was told.

'Stabbing stance'

Edward Burgess, for the prosecution, said the intruder had demanded to go into one of the rooms.

He told jurors Ms Crow said she had shouted for help, but the man said he had known nobody was at home.

In her statement, parts of which are disputed by the defence, Ms Crow said: "He asked for money and jewellery.

"Then he said that if anyone came in, he would kill me and the dogs. He said, 'I have killed before'.

"He was holding the knife above my head in a stabbing stance."

As well as the manslaughter in February of Mr Suddards at his home in Thornbury, near Bristol, Mr Farrow, of no fixed address, admits burgling Vine Cottage, also in Thornbury, over the Christmas and new year period.

Michael Fitton QC, for the prosecution, said forensic evidence, including links to the footwear worn by Mr Farrow at the time of his arrest in February, connected this burglary with the two killings.

The jury was told Mr Suddards, 59, was killed at his home next to St Mary's Church in Thornbury, South Gloucestershire.

It happened just weeks after the burglary at nearby Vine Cottage.

Mr Farrow has admitted the manslaughter of Mr Suddards on the grounds of diminished responsibility due to his mental state, but denies murder.

On Thursday jurors heard that Mr Farrow covered the reverend's body with pornography and condoms and an open bible was left on his chest.

The defendant also denies the murder of retired teacher Mrs Yates, 77, who was found stabbed to death in her cottage near Bewdley on 4 January.

Vicar John Suddards death: Pornography left on body'

BBC.com

October 4, 2012

A man killed a vicar and placed pornography and condoms on his body, Bristol Crown Court has heard.

Stephen Farrow, 48, admits the manslaughter of the Rev John Suddards, 59, near Bristol, but denies murder.

The jury was told Mr Suddards died from multiple stab wounds and had an open bible placed on his chest with other items "distributed around the body".

Mr Farrow is also on trial for the murder of pensioner Betty Yates, 77, from Worcestershire, which he denies.

'I hate God'

He has admitted a separate charge of burglary at a property in Thornbury - between 21 December last year and 3 January - when a threat was left pinned to the kitchen table with knives.

In court, the prosecution presented the hand-written note which read: "Be thankful you did not come back or we would have killed you Christian scum. I... hate God."

The jury heard there were "distinctive factual features that link" the burglary with the killings of Mrs Yates and Mr Suddards.

Prosecutor Michael Fitton QC said the note, in red ink, was produced "in a curious, disguised style of writing" with a "squirly symbol" in one corner.

He added the text "meant nothing" to the owners of Vine Cottage, who were not religious.

On 14 February, Mr Suddards was found dead at his home next to St Mary's Church in Castle Street, Thornbury, South Gloucestershire.

Picture of Christ

The jury was told he died from multiple stab wounds, including to the neck and chest, and his body had been surrounded by items including a men's magazine, a condom package, pornographic DVDs, underwear, a calendar and a parking fixed-penalty notice.

The prosecution said the items were intended to "harm the reputation and memory" of the clergyman.

A canvas picture of Jesus Christ on the cross had also been moved along with a mirror to reflect the image across the body, and streamers from party poppers were found in the hall, the court heard.

The jury was told Mr Farrow then spent the night in the vicarage where he drank the vicar's beer and watched an Indiana Jones DVD.

Mr Suddards' mobile phone and a watch were stolen and the phone used to text a friend of the vicar the words: "RIP Mr Suddards."

Mr Farrow has admitted the manslaughter of Mr Suddards on the grounds of diminished responsibility due to his mental state, but denies murder.

He also denies the murder of retired teacher Mrs Yates, who was found stabbed to death in her Bewdley cottage on 4 January.

Walking stick attack

The jury heard Stephen Farrow knew "lively, sociable" Mrs Yates and had visited her isolated cottage in the past.

Mrs Yates died from a stab wound to her neck, the court was told.

She was also stabbed three other times and had blunt trauma to the head which the prosecution said was caused by one of her own walking sticks.

The prosecution finished its opening by telling the court Mr Farrow "is not insane and knows the difference between right and wrong".

Mr Fitton added the clergyman was killed "calmly, decisively" and his killer was "focussed, directed and controlled".

The prosecutor said Mr Farrow was "fully responsible for all the decisions and actions he took".

Stephen Farrow arrested over Betty Yates murder

BBC.com

February 19, 2012

A man arrested over the death of a vicar in South Gloucestershire is being questioned over the murder of a pensioner in Worcestershire.

Betty Yates, 77, was found stabbed at her cottage near Bewdley last month.

The Reverend John Suddards, 59, was found at his vicarage at St Mary's Church, Thornbury, on Tuesday.

Stephen Farrow, 47, was arrested in Folkestone, Kent, earlier over the killing of Mr Suddards. He was later arrested over Mrs Yates's death.

A West Mercia Police statement said: "A 47-year-old man was arrested in Kent on behalf of West Mercia Police, although he is currently being transferred into the custody of Avon and Somerset Police."

Walking stick

Police had launched a nationwide appeal for Mr Farrow on Saturday.

He was arrested in Folkestone by Kent Police at about 04:20 GMT on Sunday by officers acting on a tip-off from the public.

West Mercia Police said they had "formally linked" the two murders.

Det Chief Insp Neil Jamieson said: "We would like to thank Avon and Somerset Police for their help in our investigation.

"We have been working with them to examine similarities between the deaths of Betty Yates and the Reverend John Suddards."

Mrs Yates, a retired teacher, was found stabbed to death at the foot of the stairs at her home on the banks of the River Severn on 4 January.

The 77-year-old had also been beaten with her walking stick.

A man was arrested on 2 February and questioned by police investigating her death but he was later released on bail.

Former barrister

Mr Suddards was found stabbed to death at his home in Castle Street.

Builders found his body when they arrived for a planned job. They had been given a key by a caretaker.

A post-mortem examination revealed he had died from "multiple stab wounds".

Police arrested a 43-year-old man but on Saturday he was released without charge.

The Venerable Geoffrey Sidaway, Archdeacon of Gloucester, urged the clergy to keep their doors open to "people who are distressed and angry" in the wake of Mr Suddards' murder.

Speaking after taking the Sunday morning service at St Mary's Church, he said: "By the nature of the position, clergy are often dealing with people who are distressed and angry, and that can put us in very vulnerable situations.

"The door must stay open - that is the whole point of the job. We need to be a church with an open door which is there to welcome and to help everyone."

A former barrister, Mr Suddards joined the clergy 22 years ago after a serious car crash.

He moved to the Thornbury parish six months ago, having served at St Nicolas Church in Witham, Essex, for 10 years and before that at Great Yeldham parish, 20 miles away in Essex.