Cannibal chef given life sentence

Cannibal chef jailed for life

A chef who stabbed his lover to death before cutting flesh off his thigh and cooking and eating it has been jailed.

Anthony Morley, 36, the first winner of Mr Gay UK, was told he would serve a minimum of 30 years in prison for the murder of 33-year-old Damian Oldfield.

Morley was convicted of murdering Mr Oldfield at his home in Bexley Avenue, Leeds, by a jury at the city’s Crown Court on Friday.

The judge said the murder was “one of the most gruesome” he had encountered.

Morley slashed Mr Oldfield’s throat before stabbing him several times.

Sentencing, Judge James Stewart QC said: “Not only did you murder your victim by cutting his throat and stabbing him but you cut him up, cooked him and ate part of him.

You have plumbed depths rarely encountered in our court
Judge James Stewart

“Before this case I had associated cannibalism with eras long gone, with the tale of Robinson Crusoe. No longer.

“You have plumbed depths rarely encountered in our court.”

As Judge Stewart set out how long Morley would spend behind bars, there was applause from the public gallery and a shout of “murderer”.

Morley, who won the first Mr Gay UK title in 1993 had previously had some kind of relationship with openly gay Mr Oldfield, the court was told, and the pair had arranged to meet on the day of the murder.

They later went back to Morley’s house, where the defendant prepared a meal for them both before the pair went upstairs to his bedroom.

Morley later walked into a nearby takeaway wearing a bloodstained dressing gown and flip-flops and told staff and police he had killed someone because he tried to rape him.

During the trial, Morley said he could not remember killing Mr Oldfield, who sold advertising space for gay lifestyle magazine Bent, or any of his subsequent actions.

He had denied murder on the grounds of provocation or diminished responsibility.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_yorkshire/7679695.stm