A former soldier has been found guilty of murdering his neighbours after a long-running dispute over parking. Collin Reeves, 35, stabbed Jennifer and Stephen Chapple inside their home in Norton Fitzwarren, Somerset, while their children slept upstairs.
Reeves used a ceremonial dagger he had received from the Army to attack the couple. He climbed a fence and entered through the back door, stabbing Mrs Chapple six times in her upper chest and shoulder, and Mr Chapple six times. The court heard Mrs Chapple screamed in terror and did not have time to stand up from the sofa to defend herself.
The jury at Bristol Crown Court took five hours to convict Reeves, who had denied murder. Two forensic psychiatrists concluded he was not suffering from PTSD but diagnosed moderate and mild depression. Reeves had been in a dispute with the couple about parking on their estate, which had escalated to the point that both wives felt anxious about meeting on the school run.
After the attack, Reeves rang 999 and told the operator he had stabbed his neighbours. At the police station he gave his name as 'Lance Corporal Reeves, sir' along with his service number. The family of Mr and Mrs Chapple said in a statement that no verdict would bring them back and asked for privacy to grieve. Senior crown prosecutor Joana Clark called it a brutal and deliberate attack in the safety of their own home.
