Teen killer Jack Crawley has been sentenced to life in prison for the grisly hammer murder of a war veteran and the attempted murder of a York lorry driver.
Crawley, a hospital security guard, bludgeoned 56-year-old Paul Taylor to death after arranging to meet him for a sex hook-up on Grindr, the gay dating app, before burning his body and burying it in a shallow grave in remote woodland.
A few months later, he attempted to kill the named lorry driver in York, again after arranging to meet on Grindr, by repeatedly striking him to the head and body with a claw hammer in an attack that was a “carbon copy” of the one in which he killed Mr Taylor.
Crawley, now 20, appeared for sentence at Carlisle Crown Court today when judge Mr Justice Goose described the fatal attack as an “act of callous cruelty” and “murder for gain” as the former doorman had subsequently tried to steal and sell on Mr Taylor’s Vauxhall Corsa vehicle.
Prosecutor David McLachlan KC said it was the Crown’s case that Crawley had killed former Scots soldier Mr Taylor due to his “sexual orientation”.
It was claimed by the prosecution that Crawley had a problem with older gay men and was fascinated by US serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.
During the trial, the jury heard that the victim in York had picked Crawley up at an address in Reginald Grove, York, before driving them to a secluded spot at the old Acaster Malbis airfield, just south of the city.
That was where he carried out the hammer attack.
Mr McLachlan said the attempted murder of the man in York, who was about 30 years older than Crawley, was also “motivated by hostility related to the victim’s sexuality”.
The prosecution read out a statement from the victim in York who said: “I honestly think that if I hadn’t managed to escape, that I would have ended up dead just like the other man before me, and this thought continuously goes around in my mind.
“I don’t think I will ever be able to get closure until I know why the attack happened. I’ve never been provided with any answers to this, not even as a result of the trial, and this will haunt me for the rest of my life.”
He said he had suffered from flashbacks, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder since the horrific attack at Acaster Malbis airfield.
He had to take time off work and the injury to his face was “still visible and still hurts me”. He was still having eye tests after being struck in the eye with the hammer.
He had undergone “talking therapy” since his ordeal and also suffered from sleep deprivation.
Crawley’s barrister Toby Hedworth KC said it would be “unsafe” to conclude that Crawley had attacked the two men due to their sexual orientation or draw the conclusion that Crawley had killed Mr Taylor to steal and sell his car.
He said, however, that Crawley had been “living in a fantasy world, albeit an unpleasant fantasy world”.
Judge Mr Justice Goose KC described the murder of Mr Taylor as “brutal, exceptionally severe violence”.
He told Crawley: “It was a murder for gain because I’m sure that you wanted to steal his car and afterwards, with callous cruelty, you took the body away and set fire to it, before it was hidden. For seven months the body remained hidden.”
In relation to the attempted murder in York, he said: “I’m satisfied that had that man not been so brave and strong enough, you would have murdered him there, as you had before. You are a highly dangerous young man.
“Whilst the victim in York suffered lesser injuries than Mr Taylor… your intention was to kill him.”
Crawley was jailed for life for the murder of Mr Taylor and was told he must serve a minimum of 37 years behind bars before becoming eligible for parole.
He received a 15-year jail sentence for the attempted murder of the man in York, but that would run concurrently with the substantive sentence. There were also concurrent jail sentences for the burglary and possessing an offensive weapon in York.