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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Ryan Merrifield

Moment police arrest vigilante killer dad for stabbing thief as he protests 'oh, come on'

Footage has emerged of the moment a murderer told police he hadn't got any underpants on after he was put under arrest.

David King, 56, is seen in the bodycam video describing to officers an altercation with suspected car thief Neil Charles, which led to his death.

It comes after father and son David and Edward King were today given life sentences in prison for the murder of the 47-year-old.

The victim was fatally stabbed by a dagger and sliced across the knee with a sword.

King - who made the 999 call and is seen in the video standing outside his home in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk - appears taken aback when he is told he is being detained.

He tells officers: "Do you mind if I go change? Because I haven't got any underpants on or anything..."

The moment David King is arrested (suffolk police)

He is told he can't, to which he asks if he can at least go give his house keys to his wife.

Police tell King to take his hands out of his pockets before he says "Oh, come on!" as his arms are grabbed hold of.

He audibly huffs and puffs as handcuffs are placed around his wrists.

The officer says: "I need you to stay in the clothes you're in for evidential purposes, okay?"

King replies: "Okay."

David King was today jailed for life (Suffolk Police / SWNS)
Edward King was also given a life custodial sentence (PA)

The video then cuts to show inside the boot of a vehicle.

The officer asks: "David, where is the knife?"

He replies that it's in his kitchen.

The footage cuts again to show the officer knocking on King's front door before his son, Edward King, 20, answers.

The samurai sword used in the attack (suffolk police)

He is topless and out of breath, asking if the officer has a warrant to which he tells him he doesn't need one and that the home is potentially a crime scene.

The incident took place in the early hours of June 20, 2021.

Prosecutor Richard Kelly described it as "vigilante behaviour" by the father and son, and "revenge or retaliation".

The prosecutor said that the pair had been "looking to exact violence upon a local thief".

One of the blades used (suffolk police)

Mr Charles died in hospital on June 22, Suffolk Police said.

Mr Kelly said there were attempts to cover up Edward King's involvement in what happened.

Both defendants had denied murder, but were found guilty following an earlier trial.

Judge Martyn Levett sentenced David King, who inflicted the fatal wound, to life in prison with a minimum term of 21 years, which he must serve before he can be considered for release.

Another of the knives (suffolk police)

He sentenced Edward King, who was just 18 at the time of the killing, to life in prison with a minimum term of 19 years.

The two men showed no reaction as they were led to the cells.

The judge said both men went out "with the intention of hunting down Mr Charles and at least causing him really serious harm".

He said a message thread indicated that the men thought they "needed the likes of Charles Bronson to bring justice back to the streets".

Edward King answered the door to police topless (suffolk police)

Police said they had received a 999 call from David King at around 3.55am on June 20 stating a man had been trying to steal from his car on the Moreton Hall estate.

King told the call taker that he had tried to apprehend the man who had run off, admitting he had a knife in his hand and the man claimed he was injured by this before he ran away, Suffolk Police said.

Mr Kelly said: "We do not say there was an intention to kill in this case.

"The intention was to do really serious bodily harm."

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