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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Bronwen Weatherby & Kieren Williams

'Sadistic' teenage girl who tortured doctor to death along with two men unmasked

A 'sadistic' teenage girl and two male thugs have been found guilty of murdering a doctor who they tortured to death in a homophobic attack.

Dionne Timms-Williams, 17 laughed as she kicked and punched father-of-two Dr Gary Jenkins, 54, during a robbery in Bute Park, Cardiff, on July 20 last year.

Timms-Williams, who was just 16 at the time of the incident, told the court that she took part alongside strangers Lee Strickland, 36, and Jason Edwards, 25, because she was 'scared for her life' if she did not join in.

Dr Jenkins suffered multiple brain injuries and died at the University Hospital of Wales 16 days after the attack, on August 5.

Jason Edwards, 25, Lee Strickland, 36, and Dionne Timms-Williams, 17, who can now be named for the first time, admitted taking part in the assault on Dr Jenkins and pleaded guilty to manslaughter and robbery.

The trio were all found guilty of murder today.

Jason Edwards arriving at Merthyr Crown Court (WALES NEWS SERVICE)
Lee Strickland arriving at Merthyr Crown Court (WALES NEWS SERVICE)

They also pleaded guilty to assaulting another man who tried to protect the victim.

But all three were convicted of murder after an eight-day trial at Merthyr Crown Court in South Wales.

The prosecution, led by Dafydd Enoch QC, said the attack had been "motivated by greed, homophobia and straight-up violence".

The court heard that the three defendants had been "in search of vulnerable gay men who were in the park for sex" to rob.

Gary Jenkins died on August 5 (PA)
The teenage girl and two men are facing life in jail for murder (WALES NEWS SERVICE)

Timms-Williams, who was 16 at the time, is believed not to have known her two co-defendants before that night.

After meeting them in Queen Street and accepting a can of cider, she walked with them to the Esso garage in Cathedral Road, where she paid for more cans of alcohol.

The trio then entered Bute Park and spent time in the seating area outside the Summerhouse Cafe, opposite the Millennium Bridge.

A key part of the prosecution's evidence was an audio recording of the attack taken from a CCTV camera located inside the cafe.

The incident happened at a park in Cardiff (PA)

Before the clip was played, members of the jury and others in the courtroom were warned about its disturbing content, which gave an account of how Dr Jenkins was "cruelly beaten, robbed, tortured and left for dead".

Beginning just before 1am, a man identified as Dr Jenkins can be heard repeatedly yelling "Leave me alone" and "Get off me".

A female voice - Timms-Williams - shouts "Money" and "Now", before homophobic slurs are used by one of the male defendants, believed to be Edwards, who has a Liverpool accent.

Dr Jenkins makes repeated pleas for his life, asking "Why?" and saying "Please, stop it".

Lee Strickland (WALES NEWS SERVICE)

His moans of pain become quieter before he is unable to speak any more.

Timms-Williams can be heard saying "Get down", "Do it all over again", "Do it" and "Hit him again".

Another male voice at one point says: "Stamp on his head. Stamp on his head too."

Another says "Keep going" and "Oh, let me stamp on him again".

The attack lasts for 15 minutes, after which Timms-Williams can be heard saying: "Yeah, I needed that."

The father-of-two was brutally attacked (WALES NEWS SERVICE)

Witness Louis Williams can be heard throughout, attempting to intervene, before the three defendants turn and assault him.

He told police that he attempted to lie on top of Dr Jenkins to shield him from the repeated kicks and punches.

Mr Williams said the three defendants laughed and shouted as they carried out the violence, and he thought Timms-Williams was "evil" and "sadistic".

"I couldn't understand why they were hurting him so much," he said.

Following the attack, Strickland could be seen on CCTV footage heading back to the Esso garage where he bought a bottle of whiskey using Dr Jenkins' Santander debit card.

Bute Park, in Cardiff, where the attack took place (WalesOnline)

Timms-Williams and Edwards emerged from the North Road entrance and hugged and kissed each other for a number of minutes before they separated.

Edwards is seen walking back into the city centre and meeting up with Strickland, where they embrace and both appear to be smiling.

Dr Jenkins' blood was later found on one of Edwards' black Fila trainers.

When questioned by police, Edwards denied being in Bute Park that night but did say he thought of it as a "dirty park" because gay men congregate there.

The 54-year-old died 16 days after the brutal attack (WalesOnline)

Strickland, who was stopped by plain clothes police the same night, was found to have cut knuckles and his blood was discovered inside the pocket of Dr Jenkins' jeans.

The clothes worn by Timms-Williams that night were never found, with the prosecution claiming she was "forensically aware" and saying she intentionally got rid of them to avoid DNA evidence being found.

In a prepared statement the teenager gave to police, she said she only joined in with the attack because she had been scared of the two men.

Her defence team also claimed she was not homophobic and that she had been in a same-sex relationship.

Judge Daniel Williams said the trio will be sentenced at a later date.

We'll be bringing you the very latest updates, pictures and video on this breaking news story.

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