GUILTY UK - Sir Richard Sutton, 83, murdered, Anne Schreiber, 65, wounded, Dorset, 7 Apr 2021

[Tortoise]

Mug shot in the article.


"Wearing a blue suit and tie with a pink shirt, Schreiber closed his eyes as the verdict was announced. A cry of “yes” could be heard from the public gallery, where some members of Sutton’s family were sitting. Anne Schreiber watched by video link from hospital."

Thomas Schreiber found guilty of murdering Sir Richard Sutton

 

[JerseyGirl]

Painter found guilty of fatally stabbing millionaire dad, leading cops on 135mph chase

Adjourning the case for sentencing on December 20

 

[Tortoise]

LIVE: Killer to be sentenced for murdering millionaire Sir Richard Sutton

 

[Tortoise]

2:20pm

We are expecting victim impact statements to be read at the hearing as well as any mitigation put forward by barrister Joe Stone QC, who represented Thomas Schreiber during the trial.

Prosecutor Adam Feest QC is likely to give details on aggravating features in the case that could impact on the sentence handed down by the judge.


2:37pm

The judge has now entered court and the hearing will begin. The defendant is in the dock and he has confirmed his name.


2:37pm

Mr Feest QC says both the prosecution and defence counsel have provided sentencing notes.

There are five victim personal impact statements.

2:38pm

Sir David Sutton, Sir Richard's son, will be the first to read his statement.

2:38pm

"I think of my father every day," says Sir David.

2:38pm

Sir Richard had been isolating during the pandemic, the court hears.

2:39pm

Sir David last saw him when his father visited him in February 2021 - two months before the attack.

2:39pm

Sir Richard and Sir David had a passion for photography and the latter had made plans to go together to Durdle Door.

2:40pm

Sir David says his father resented paying for a job to be done if he knew it could be done himself just as well, if not better.

2:41pm

The father and son worked together on their farm for around 35 years.

2:42pm

Sir David says he misses his father "hugely" and their relationship was getting "better and better".

He feels "robbed" the times they had planned were taken away.

2:43pm

Sir David tells the court he feels anger, sadness and distress over how his father died, adding it was "completely unnecessary".

2:44pm

He says it is convenient that parts of the incident could be remembered by the defendant "vividly" and others could not be recalled at all.

2:45pm

Sir Richard's son says it was "a senseless act" that took away the life of a "generous, loving, elderly man".

LIVE: Killer to be sentenced for murdering millionaire Sir Richard Sutton

 

[Tortoise]

2:45pm

Mr Feest QC is now reading the statement of Sir Richard's daughter, Caroline Sutton.
2:45pm

She writes that he always had time to help others.

2:46pm

"People say sorry for your loss but I didn't lose him," Ms Sutton's statement says. "He was taken from me."

2:46pm

Knowing what her father went through in his final stages of life will always live with her, Caroline Sutton says.
2:47pm

Her statement says: "Tom has not only dragged his own family though hell, but also mine."

She says the last seven months have been the worst of her life.

2:47pm

"I don't think my brother and I will ever truly recover from our loss," says Caroline Sutton.

She says she feels "lost and broken".

2:48pm

She wishes she could have one more conversation with him.

2:49pm

Mr Feest QC is reading the statement of Sir Richard's younger brother.

2:50pm

"Richard was a great brother who will sadly be missed by us all," the statement says.


LIVE: Killer to be sentenced for murdering millionaire Sir Richard Sutton

 

[Tortoise]

2:50pm

Rose McCarthy, the defendant's sister and Anne Schreiber's daughter, is called to read her statement.

2:51pm

She tells her brother he has "broken me".

2:52pm

Mrs McCarthy says the defendant "took a knife to our world".

2:53pm

In relation to Sir Richard, Mrs McCarthy said Thomas Schreiber killed "the most innocent and kind man in the most brutal way"

In relation to their mother, she tells the court that she is "trapped in a body she cannot use".

2:53pm

Mrs McCarthy says the family home at Moorhill doesn't feel safe anymore.

2:54pm

"You have ruined the lives of the Suttons and the memory of their father," says Mrs McCarthy.

2:55pm

"I also feel so sad because I have lost you my brother," says Mrs McCarthy.

She asks the defendant "what do we tell our children".

2:55pm

She says the family face a life-time of consequences as a result of the defendant's actions.

2:56pm

Thomas Schreiber's other sister, Louisa, will now read her statement.

2:58pm

Louisa Schreiber said despite his age Sir Richard had a lot more living to do.

She tells the court Sir Richard was due to walk her down the aisle at her wedding this year.

2:59pm

"Richard should have had an honourable and dignified passing," says Louisa Schreiber.

2:59pm

She says she is shocked to the core now she knows Sir Richard's last few moments.

3:00pm

The image of her mother in intensive care will stay with her forever, Louisa Schreiber tells the court.

3:02pm

She said Sir Richard's life was taken away in the "most brutal of ways".

3:02pm

Her childhood memories are tainted, she tells the court.

3:03pm

Louisa Schreiber says her brother has become a stranger to her.

The defendant can be heard saying "I'm sorry".

3:03pm

That concludes the personal statements.

LIVE: Killer to be sentenced for murdering millionaire Sir Richard Sutton

 

[Tortoise]

3:03pm

Mr Feest QC now turns to the sentencing guidelines and approach the court chooses to take.

3:04pm

It is known the defendant will receive a life sentence but the judge needs to determine the minimum term - the period Thomas Schreiber has to spend behind bars before he can be considered for parole.

3:07pm

The court hears there were two phases to the attack, with Sir Richard experiencing physical suffering prior to the fatal attack.

3:08pm

The prosecution say the defendant rearmed himself with a second knife and sought Sir Richard out.

3:11pm

The prosecutor and the judge are discussing the sentencing exercise involving the murder and attempted murder offences.

3:13pm

In relation to the dangerous driving, the defendant will be disqualified for the length of the minimum prison term plus the duration the judge decides to disqualify him for.

3:14pm

That concludes Mr Feest QC's submissions and could be the last time he stands during the court case.

3:14pm

Mr Stone QC, representing the defendant, is now on his feet for mitigation submissions.

3:15pm

Thomas Schreiber has written a letter which Mr Stone QC will read.

3:15pm

He expresses "his heartfelt shame" for his words and actions against his family and Sir Richard on April 7.

3:16pm

He says he has "destroyed not only my own family but also the Sutton family".

The defendant says he loves his mother and his family "very much".

3:16pm

"I have been a coward," the defendant's letter says.

He adds that he has been "hugely arrogant".

3:17pm

"I am desperate to go back to that day," writes Thomas Schreiber.

3:18pm

Mr Stone QC says the defendant said all has been destroyed for him and he has nothing to live for.


3:18pm

The judge will now rise for around 15 minutes to consider his sentencing remarks.




LIVE: Killer to be sentenced for murdering millionaire Sir Richard Sutton

 

[Tortoise]

3:53pm

The judge has returned to court and will now sentence the defendant.

3:54pm

The judge says it is plain from the statements that the defendant's actions have caused "utter devastation" to the Sutton and Schreiber families.

3:55pm

The Honourable Mr Justice Garnham begins by detailing the background to the case.

3:56pm

He says the defendant had a "breathtaking sense of entitlement" at Moorhill.

3:58pm

The judge says the defendant "completely lost his temper" on April 7.

3:59pm

He says Thomas Schreiber launched a "vicious attack" on his own mother in the kitchen at Moorhill.

3:59pm

At some stage during the attack Sir Richard came in shouting and screaming for the defendant to stop. The defendant then turned on him and attacked him.

4:01pm

The defendant took a second knife upstairs when he went to look for Sir Richard.

4:02pm

There can be little doubt the defendant caught up with Sir Richard at the end of the corridor upstairs, the judge said.

4:02pm

Sir Richard was dead within seconds after the defendant inflicted five stab wounds.

4:03pm

The judge said the defendant made a "hastily formed plan to flee" when he picked up his passports before leaving the scene at Moorhill.

4:03pm

The defendant's driving in the ensuing pursuit was "dangerous to the extreme".


LIVE: Killer to be sentenced for murdering millionaire Sir Richard Sutton

 

[Tortoise]

4:04pm

But for the skilled intervention of police and paramedics at the scene, Anne Schreiber would have died on the kitchen floor. Without the work of medics after she was airlifted to hospital, she would have died.

4:05pm

The judge said it is "only by a whisker" that the defendant did not kill his mother.

4:05pm

He says Anne Schreiber is likely to remain tetraplegic.

4:08pm

The judge said the picking up of a second knife to attack Sir Richard upstairs was an aggravating feature.

The case is also aggravated as it took place in Sir Richard's home, Sir Richard was attacked twice (downstairs and upstairs), after the attacks the defendant attempted to flee, Sir Richard was elderly, vulnerable and badly injured when he was fatal stabbed and the defendant was in drink.

4:09pm

In mitigation, the defendant had no previous convictions and some mental health conditions.

4:10pm

The minimum term for the murder would be 21 years, if there were no other offences, but there is also the attempted murder.

4:11pm

The attempted murder has a starting point of 25 years' imprisonment, aggravated up by one year.

4:11pm

The attempted murder sentence if it were to be determinate will be considered when delivering the minimum term for the murder.

4:12pm

On the dangerous driving charge, there was a repeated disregard for instructions from police.

4:13pm

Thomas Schreiber is handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 36 years.

4:16pm

PC George Bryant the armed office who adminstered first aid and carried out Anne Schreiber from Moorhill, along with crime scene managers, detective case officers and the investigation team are commended by the judge.

LIVE: Killer to be sentenced for murdering millionaire Sir Richard Sutton

 

[Tortoise]

I feel that's about exactly right.

 

[Tortoise]

4:21pm

In a statement after the hearing, Sir Richard Sutton's family said: "We welcome the outcome of the trial and that justice has been seen to be done.

"However, this was a tragic and devastating loss of life, taken far too early, of a generous, loving, elderly man who only wanted to enjoy his twilight years; an elderly man who was our father, a brother, a grandfather and a friend to all who knew him.

"We will treasure our memories of him forever and his values, of being warm and compassionate to all those he met and worked with, will live on; as will the love, respect and devotion he showed to his family and friends every day.

"In business, Sir Richard had a passion for excellence, whether in his hotels, property or farming interests.

"The British countryside has lost an amazing champion, who was above all an active and committed farmer.

"He taught us all about the importance of protecting and preserving the environment around us and the need to leave it in a better place for future generations.

"We will never forget him, nor his never-ending kindness and generosity. He will be sorely missed.

"We want to thank the team of detectives, the police liaison officers, the CPS and Mr Adam Feest QC for their support, and for bringing this heinous crime to justice.”

LIVE: Killer to be sentenced for murdering millionaire Sir Richard Sutton

 

[Alyce]

Just catching up again - thanks Tortoise for all the updates, much appreciated.

Good to see another decent sentence, although somehow doubt he will last that long.

 

[Marg from Oz]

English gaols are filling up fast. MOO

 

[minusfour]

Sixteen is a bad time for a family breakdown, but still.. His father, a functioning alcoholic until his marriage broke down, is the hero? Becoming a dysfunctional alcoholic after the breakdown, he moved into the Stepfather's property until his death? His son, many years later, is living at the "awfully English" Stepfather's place, driving his car and accepting monthly payments from him, having earlier accepted a large lump sum. He kills his awfully generous, elderly stepfather, in his home, and attempts to kill his mother at the same time, including stabbing her in the back more than ten times. What a terrible story.

 

[minusfour]

I read about this case in the media, but have to say reading about the trial has really shocked me. Punching his mother, trying to strangle his sister, endlessly discussing murdering his mother and stepfather, and then the brutal attack. It sounds like he made the last months of his stepfather's life hellish too. And he says he felt unwanted and unloved? I can't make sense of it.