Anthony Stinson: Categorising a Killer

 

As regular readers know - some would say only too well - I have an abiding interest in the all-too-common murders of innocent members of the public by mental health patients. And there are far too many, as I have recorded and the "100 Families" website has meticulously catalogued for a number of years. For this reason, I took an interest in the horrific killing of the young lady in the photo above: Charlotte Wilcock. 

In previous posts on this topic, I have been truly shocked by details of the murderous attacks. The cases of Nicola Edgington and Jonty Bravery spring to mind, but nothing matches the horror of the unprovoked attack on Charlotte Wilcock in Blackburn on March 3rd, by  31-year old Anthony Stinson.

The details of the attack, related briefly, are staggering in their horror. As the BBC says: 

"Anthony Stinson, 31, kicked and stamped on Charlotte Wilcock at her Blackburn home just after 21:00 GMT on 3 March before stabbing her multiple times."

Exactly how long this assault lasted is unclear, but Charlotte was left with about 100 injuries, including many wounds to her hands from where she attempted to defend herself. Even by writing these sparse details, I felt a sudden chill. Ms Wilcock had been peacefully smoking a cigarette, sat on her front doorstep, when Stinson, a passer-by, had launched his attack. As the Lancashire Telegraph says:

"The pair had never met before that night, and Stinson then continued the attack inside the address, eventually leaving her body behind the front door".

Ms Wilcock's 15-month baby daughter was asleep upstairs and was not found until next day.

When I first stumbled across this story, I assumed that Stinson was yet another psychotic killer who should have been sectioned under the mental health acts. In fact, after his arrest, that was the tenor of his defence. Lancashire Police said Stinson changed his clothing and buried Charlotte's phone after the attack, before walking away and using a passer-by's phone to call the police. When interviewed, he claimed to have had a psychotic episode and - perhaps significantly - seen the devil. In fact, he said that he thought Charlotte was the devil. The BBC comments: "a defence he maintained until the first day of his trial, when he changed his plea to guilty after psychiatric reports failed to support his claims".

I found this remarkable. After all, surely his unprovoked attack on a complete stranger indicated mental disturbance - didn't it? Apparently not. An hour before the attack, Stinson recorded a rap video, in which he and a friend described killing someone. And, as the Manchester Evening News says:

"CCTV footage also showed that just 15 minutes earlier, he had been well enough to make conversation with a local shopkeeper while buying alcohol and cigarettes".

Assuming Stinson's defence was calculated, and he was not undergoing a psychotic episode, then what motivated such a horrific crime? How else can we explain it? Stinson had been taking drugs and was drunk, but that is neither an explanation or an excuse. As the Lancashire Telegraph says:

"Despite Stinson telling police he saw the devil that night, doctors could find no determinate underlying mental health conditions to back up his claims, save from delusions brought on by cocaine use".

Perhaps we need to know more about him, and that's worth looking at in detail.

Stinson, a former chef, has a history of violent, disturbing crime. In 2013, aged 21, he raped a teenage girl as she slept after a house party.
In April 2014 he was sentenced to five years in prison for the attack.
Stinson pleaded not guilty to this offence, but in an act that would be replicated some 10 years later, he changed his plea on the day of his trial, admitting to what he had done.
 In 2019, he was spared jail for throttling his new partner.
In April 2019, Preston Crown Court heard how on two separate occasions, he attempted to strangle his partner, following arguments which happened after evenings of heavy drinking.
At the time of those assaults, Stinson also headbutted a window belonging to a cinema, causing £265 of damage. Perhaps he didn't like the movie?
The couple remained together despite the victim telling him she wanted to end the relationship, but on February 3, Stinson once again tried to strangle his partner.
For this, Stinson was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years. He was ordered to attend a six-month alcohol treatment programme, complete 15 of rehabilitation activity requirement days, attend the building better relationships programme and pay £265 compensation to the cinema.
Prior to killing Charlotte on March 3, Stinson had 11 convictions, comprising 26 offences.
His suspended sentence for the assault on his partner ended in April 2021, just two years before he carried out his attack on Charlotte.

It's difficult to categorise this kind of behaviour, even more difficult to prescribe a remedy. Stinson is clearly a violent man, with a propensity towards violence against women. Put (very) simplistically: is he mad or is he evil?

Whatever we think, we can breathe easily at the fact that he has been sentenced to 24 years and two months. He will be 55, if and when he gets out. Assuming, of course, that he isn't released early on licence like Colin Pitchfork. 

Charlotte Wilcock will not see 55. Her two children will grow up without her, and her family will mourn her loss for the rest of their lives. As Charlotte's mum, Carole Smalley, quoted in the Manchester Evening News, said after Stinson was sentenced:

"I loved her deeply and miss her terribly," Ms Smalley said. "I don’t think the feeling of loss and missing her will ever stop. I often think that I may be slowly moving forward and then I will hear a certain song or there will be a familiar smell and I am right back where I started with the most intense feelings of grief and sadness as I realise that she has gone forever."

Speaking, yet again, on behalf of all readers of this blog, I send condolences to the family of Charlotte Wilcock.

As for Anthony Stinson, he remains uncategorised.