Killer blamed victim over heroin

Richard Shrapnell bled to death after being repeatedly stabbed in the neck.

A man who killed his younger sister's boyfriend who he blamed for her heroin addiction, has been jailed for at least six years at Swansea Crown Court.

Darren Curwood, 36, repeatedly stabbed Richard Shrapnell in the neck.

A jury had cleared him of murdering Mr Shrapnell, 36, in Llanelli in March but he was convicted of manslaughter on the grounds of provocation.

Curwood's partner at the time, Kirsty Bettis, 24, was sentenced to 16 months for disposing of the knife he used.

The court heard the couple went to Mr Shrapnell's house at Ty Elizabeth in the Morfa area of Llanelli on the night of 4 March.

Earlier that day, Curwood's sister Rachel had told him she was planning to address her heroin habit, the court heard.

But that night Mr Shrapnell asked Curwood several times for money to buy the class A drug.

Curwood attacked him with a knife he was carrying stabbing him repeatedly in his neck and leaving his body on the kitchen floor.

It did not take much on Richard Shrapnell's part to provoke you Judge Mr Justice John Griffith Williams

The court heard Bettis, who had previously pleaded guilty to attempting to pervert the course of justice, retrieved the knife and later threw it way.

Curwood's barrister Elwen Evans QC told the court Curwood had "genuine concerns" about his sister, believing Mr Shrapnell encouraged her to take heroin.

She said the couple would share up to eight bags a day.

Judge Mr Justice John Griffith Williams said some people may consider Curwood "lucky" with the jury's decision.

"Having lost his self control he took out a knife that he deliberately took to that house and used it kill," he said.

Addressing Curwood directly he said: "Although she was an adult and so the choice was hers I accept that you believed the only way for her to break her habit was to leave Richard Shrapnell.

"It did not take much on Richard Shrapnell's part to provoke you."

He told Curwood he had "deprived an elderly man" of his son and "you have deprived your sister of the man she loved."

He said he did not believe Curwood was "truly remorseful."

He said he would serve a minimum of six years in prison, minus the 248 days he had already spent in custody, before being eligible for parole.

Sentencing Bettis, who had already spent the same time in custody, the judge told her that she had been "sufficiently punished" and that the 16 month term should mean she would be released on parole "fairly soon."