A convicted killer who brutally murdered his neighbour with a kitchen knife and a table leg before wandering outside her home covered in blood has been jailed for life.
Brian Whitelock, 57, said “I’ve killed Wendy” when he was discovered kneeling on the ground outside Wendy Buckney’s home in Clydach, near Swansea, as he covered himself in dirt.
The 71-year-old had kindly provided him with odd jobs such as gardening believing he deserved a “second chance” after he was released from prison for murder and manslaughter, but he killed her by carrying out a sustained assault in her own home.
The pensioner was discovered naked and bloodstained in her living room on 23 August 2022, after being repeatedly stabbed with a variety of weapons, including wooden shelving.
Referring to Mr Whitelock’s previous convictions, Swansea Crown Court heard that Whitelock had killed 34-year-old Nicky Morgan with a pick axe or hammer after a drink and drug fuelled argument in October 2000.
He then went to a local garage, returning with a jerry can of petrol which he poured over him and lit a fire. His brother Glen was sleeping upstairs and died of smoke inhalation.
He was convicted by a jury of Ms Buckney’s murder after they deliberated for around 30 minutes following a two-week-long trial on Wednesday.
During the trial, Christopher Rees KC, prosecuting, said Whitelock had a long-standing drug addiction and history of violence.
Mr Rees said Ms Buckney must have “suffered greatly” at the hands of Whitelock before her death, having sustained multiple stab injuries, sharp force injuries and blunt force injuries.
He added: “You will also hear evidence of sexual assault upon her – whether this was done by the defendant before, during or after his attack upon her is impossible, forensically, to say.”
Whitelock, of Tanycoed Road, Clydach, represented himself during the trial and told jurors he had no memory of the incident and was suffering from a brain injury at the time after he slipped over while out fishing.
He was seen arriving at Ms Buckney’s flat fully clothed, but the next time a neighbour saw him he was covered in blood, wearing just his pants inside out.
Jeffrey Llewelyn, a neighbour, confronted Whitelock outside Ms Buckney’s house while he was kneeling on the front lawn, where he heard the defendant say “I’ve killed Wendy”.
Another neighbour, Paul Jones, heard Whitelock say “I didn’t realise what I was doing until I came down from the high”.
He was arrested by police at the scene, and told officers: “It looks like I f****** tortured her, I have, like, I literally have. She was begging me to stop.”
He previously told doctors he took “30 Polish diazepam a day” bought off the street.
A doctor, who carried out a CT scan ahead of the incident, believed Whitelock’s confusion in the weeks before was caused by drug withdrawal, rather than his head injury.
Following the guilty verdict, Whitelock shouted at the jury from the dock and had to be escorted from the courtroom.
He said: “I hope you all suffer a brain injury, I hope you all suffer a brain injury. I hope you all suffer what I went through. You are all bang out of order.”
During his trial, where he represented himself, he told the jury he had not been in trouble with the law since he was let out of prison.
However, the prosecution said this was untrue and that he had assaulted a worker in a Co-op store in Swansea in 2020.
In a statement, Ms Buckney’s family described her as a “much loved sister and aunty”.
They said: “Today’s verdict brings some measure of justice for Wendy, who was taken from us far too soon.
“While nothing can bring her back, we are grateful that the truth has been heard.
“Wendy was a very much loved sister and aunty whose kindness, laughter and spirit touched the lives of so many.
“Our lives will never be the same without her, but we will continue to honour her memory every day.
“This has been a painful and heartbreaking journey for our family.”
