Stepson killer must serve at least 16 years

A pathologically jealous man who stabbed his teenage stepson to death must serve at least 16 years behind bars, a judge said today.

Carl Wayne Bowen, 42, of Grant Street, Llanelli, South Wales, was found guilty yesterday of murdering 15-year-old Jamie Yeates who he stabbed 18 times in the unprovoked attack.

He was also found guilty of attempting to murder Jamie's mother, Maria, and wounding his teenage sister, Kimberley, with intent to cause her grievous bodily harm.

Sentencing Bowen to life imprisonment for the murder, Mr Justice Nigel Davis said he must serve at least 16 years before he can apply for parole.

Mr Justice Davis, sitting at Swansea Crown Court, also sentenced Bowen to seven years in prison for each of the other two charges, to be served concurrently with the life term.

The court had heard that Jamie, an aspiring jockey who had the talent to realise his ambitions, screamed out for his mother as his drunken stepfather carried out the lethal attack at their home.

The teenager's dying screams alerted his sleeping mother and sister who went on to the landing of their home and were themselves attacked by Bowen.

Bowen tried unsuccessfully to stab his wife, but managed to seriously wound his teenage stepdaughter in the arm.

He had denied the charges and his defence team claimed he was suffering an "abnormality of mind" at the time of the attacks in the early hours of January 8.

The court heard how Bowen went upstairs armed with a kitchen knife and a baseball bat with the intention of murdering Jamie as he slept.

When paramedics arrived at the scene, Jamie's heart had already stopped and they tried unsuccessfully to revive him.

An examination of the teenager's body found that knife wounds had severed his spine and ribs and went through his arm into his chest.

The court heard Bowen banned his wife from seeing her parents and also ordered his stepchildren not to see their natural father and grandparents.

Prosecutor Elwyn Evans QC had said: "It would seem that the defendant was a controlling, manipulative, possessive, jealous, self-centred man. A man who expected his own way. A man who drank to excess."

She said, at the time of his death, Jamie was secretly visiting his paternal grandparents.

He had also recently spent time away from home at a stables in Carmarthen in pursuit of his ambition to become a jockey.

"On the night of the killing it seems that Jamie had said to his mum that the defendant would not feed him that night.

"It seems that the reason was related to the fact that Jamie was seeing his grandparents."

A statement from Jamie's family said: "While nothing can bring our Jamie back to us, we are happy that justice has been done."