Three found guilty, including 17-year-old, of ‘homophobic murder’ of psychiatrist Gary Jenkins
Moment killer gang LAUGHED and hugged after murdering doctor: CCTV caught girl, 17, and men, 25 and 36, screaming ‘stamp on his head, keep going’ as they tortured father-of-two in homophobic attack – then fell ASLEEP in police interview
Dionne Timms-Williams was today named as teen involved in ‘homophobic’ Cardiff robbery turned murderThe 17-year-old was guilty of murdering father-of-two psychiatrist Gary Jenkins, 54, in Bute Park last July Her fellow defendants Jason Edwards, 25, and Lee Strickland, 36, will also be sentenced for murder in MarchShocking CCTV footage captured the moment a then 16-year-old Timms-Williams first met her fellow killers They share a warm hug after torturing and stamping on Jenkins’ head before leaving him to die in the park
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Two male thugs and a ‘sadistic’ teenage girl laughed and hugged after murdering a father-of-two psychiatrist during a brutal ‘homophobic attack’ in a park.
Jason Edwards, 25, Lee Strickland, 36, and Dionne Timms-Williams, 17, who can now be named for the first time, were convicted of the murder of Dr Gary Jenkins after an eight-day trial at Merthyr Crown Court in South Wales.
The prosecution, led by Dafydd Enoch QC, said the attack had been ‘motivated by greed, homophobia and straight-up violence’.
Timms-Williams, 16 at the time, was laughing as she punched and kicked father-of-two Dr Jenkins, 54, during a brutal robbery in Bute Park, Cardiff, on July 20 last year.
Timms-Williams, who was just 16 at the time of the attack, claimed in court that she took part in the attack alongside strangers Jason Edwards, 25, and Lee Strickland, 36, because she was ‘scared for her life’ if she did not join in.
Edwards and Strickland were also caught on CCTV laughing in the wake of the attack after they stole Dr Jenkins’ card to buy alcohol.
Consultant psychiatrist Dr Gary Jenkins, 54, was ‘viciously attacked and tortured’ in Bute Park, Cardiff
Dionne, who lived with her company director mother in the Vale of Glamorgan village of Creigiau, was known to have been in a same-sex relationship herself – leaving neighbours baffled when asked about the homophobic attack.
Dr Jenkins had visited Bute Park that night ‘looking for sexual contact with other men’, and the three defendants were looking to rob ‘vulnerable gay men who were in the park for sex’, Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court was previously told.
Dr Jenkins was seen on CCTV footage around the area wandering through the area before Timms-Williams, Edwards and Strickland all met for the first time on nearby park benches.
The psychiatrist screamed out ‘get off me’ and ‘please stop’ as he repeatedly asked why his attackers had targeted him, humiliating him further as they pulled down his blood-soaked trousers to expose his penis.
Meanwhile, chilling audio captured the moment the trio started encouraging one another as they screamed ‘stamp on his head’ and ‘keep going’ during the 15-minute onslaught.
After killing the psychiatrist, his attackers used the dead man’s bank card to purchase alcohol at a nearby Esso Garage, before Edwards and Strickland were seen on CCTV taking a drunken ride through the city on a rented scooter.
Jurors watched key moments of the evening’s horrifying attack during the trial, including a bodycam clip of Strickland’s arrest and Timms-Williams’ police interview in which she declined to comment.
The court heard Dr Jenkins suffered an ‘unsurvivable brain injury’ after he was ‘beaten, tortured and left for dead’ and sadly died at the University Hospital of Wales two weeks later on August 5.
All three defendants were today found guilty of Mr Jenkins’ murder following an eight-day trial, after initially admitting to manslaughter charges, and will be sentenced at the end of March.
Edwards and Strickland were kicked out of the court room after they appeared to laugh and joke with one another in the dock as their guilty verdicts were returned.
Dione Timms-Williams, then 16, gave a prepared statement to South Wales Police to say she had only met the pair on the night, had been forced to join in on the attack and was left ‘traumatised’ by their actions
Dionne (left), who lived with her company director mother Lisa Timms (right) in the Vale of Glamorgan village of Creigiau, was known to have been in a same-sex relationship herself – leaving neighbours baffled when asked about the homophobic attack
Jason Edwards, 25, left, Lee Strickland, 36, right, had admitted manslaughter, robbery and assault occasioning actual bodily harm but denied murder as they face trial at Merthyr Crown Court
CCTV footage released from that night shows the trio of Timms-Williams (left) being offered a can of cider as she first meets Jason Edwards, 25 (centre) and Lee Strickland, 36, near Bute Park in the early hours of the morning
Dionne Timms-Williams, 17, has today been named as the teenager who was laughing as she punched and kicked father-of-two psychiatrist Dr Gary Jenkins to death in a Cardiff park. She is said to have had a passion for horses (right)
Prosecutors said the top psychiatrist was ‘viscously beaten, robbed, tortured and left for dead’ as the trio of thugs warmly embraced one another after the attack use Jenkins’ stolen bank card to purchase alcohol.
CCTV footage from the scene captured a 15-minute audio recording of the attack while Dr Jenkins pleaded for help.
The teenager can be heard shouting ‘do it’ in the chilling footage while also calling Dr Jenkins a ‘f***ing pig’ before leaving him for dead in a park before she was captured on film hugging her accomplice Jason Edwards.
Timms-Williams lived at home in the commuter village of Creigiau near Cardiff with her mother, a company secretary with a popular Newport restaurant.
But she went out ‘to target somebody for robbery and violence’ in the early hours of the morning on July 20 last year, the court heard.
Reacting to the killing, one neighbour said: ‘Before lockdown she was just an ordinary young girl – now she has killed someone in the most horrible of ways.
‘Her family will be horrified. They always seemed so nice and normal.’
In a statement following the verdict Iestyn Wyn, campaigns, policy and research manager at Stonewall Cymru said: ‘Lesbian, gay, bi, trans and queer people should be free to go about their lives without fear or restriction, but the tragic death of Dr Jenkins is reminder of the hate our communities face for simply existing.
‘Remarks made during the trial have further eroded the trust that our communities have in our justice system – where four in five (81%) of LGBTQ+ people already do not report hate incidents to the police.
‘As people across the UK mourn the heart breaking loss of Dr Jenkins, the Government must take urgent action to challenge anti-LGBTQ+ attitudes and ensure all our communities are safe and free.’
Timms-Williams (pictured above) lived with her company director mother in the Vale of Glamorgan village of Creigiau, was known to have been in a same-sex relationship herself – leaving neighbours baffled when asked about the homophobic attack
CCTV footage from the scene captured a 15-minute audio recording of the attack while Dr Jenkins pleaded for help. Timms-Williams can be heard shouting ‘do it’ in the chilling footage while also calling Dr Jenkins a ‘f***ing pig’ before leaving him for dead in a park
Timms-Williams lived at home (white house, centre) in the commuter village of Creigiau near Cardiff with her mother, a company secretary with a popular Newport restaurant
Lee Strickland, 36, (pictured) was also found guilty of Mr Jenkins’ murder following an eight-day trial, after initially admitting to manslaughter charges, and will be sentenced at the end of March
Strickland (pictured above) was caught using Gary Jenkins’ stolen bank card to purchase alcohol from an Esso garage later that night
Consultant psychiatrist Dr Gary Jenkins, 54, was ‘viciously attacked and tortured’ in Bute Park, Cardiff (pictured), in the early hours of July 20 last year and died of his injuries 16 days later
Timms-Williams – who has a passion for horse riding – was seen wearing black knee-high socks as she headed to Bute Park near Cardiff Castle.
She was recorded before the attack saying: ‘If we’re going to stay in f***** Bute Park, can we at least go and steal?’
Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard Timms-Williams was seen laughing as she punched and kicked Dr Jenkins.
Horrified witness Louis Williams described the teenager as ‘f***ing evil and sadistic’ after he desperately tried to intervene.
Timms-Williams who was just 16 at the time, was later arrested by police alongside Mr Edwards and Mr Strickland for the attack on Dr Jenkins.
The trio had admitted manslaughter, robbery and assault occasioning actual bodily harm but denied murder.
The teenager gave a prepared statement to police to say she had only met the pair on the night and was ‘traumatised’ by their actions.
She said: ‘I saw one of the males throwing a punch. I saw him fall to the floor. They were both kicking and punching.
‘They said ‘come on’, for me to join in. I was terrified and scared for my life. I thought if I didn’t do what he wanted I would die. I couldn’t believe what was going on.
‘I have never been in the city centre at night on my own. I have never witnessed anything like that in my life.’
Timms-Williams, who was 16 at the time, is believed not to have known her two co-defendants before that night.
After meeting them in Queen Street and accepting a can of cider, she walked with them to the Esso garage in Cathedral Road, where she paid for more cans of alcohol.
The trio then entered Bute Park and spent time in the seating area outside the Summerhouse Cafe, opposite the Millennium Bridge.
A key part of the prosecution’s evidence was an audio recording of the attack taken from a CCTV camera located inside the cafe.
The court heard the teenager admitted hitting Dr Jenkins once and claimed she kicked him ‘a few times’ but insisted ‘they were not hard kicks.’
Timms-Williams said she had met the two men during the night after Mr Edwards introduced himself as ‘Scouse’ and gave her two cans of cider.
She said: ‘I did not think Dr Gary Jenkins would be seriously injured.
‘I was too scared to call for help for him. I think they will hunt me down and hurt me or my family. I feared I would be attacked immediately if I tried to get away.’
The trial previously heard bisexual Dr Jenkins had gone to the park looking to meet men.
Prosecutor Dafydd Enoch QC said: ‘It was a beating apparently motivated by greed, homophobia and a straightforward liking of violence.’
Dr Gary Jenkins was in Bute Park in the early hours of the morning last July when he was set upon by Jason Edwards, 25, Lee William Strickland, 36, and a 17-year-old girl
Witness Louis Williams desperately tried to save Dr Jenkins during the attack and was assaulted himself. He described the girl as: ‘F***ing evil. Sadistic.’
After his arrest, Mr Edwards told detectives: ‘I was not in this f****** dirty park. So, listen to my words now, yeah, I’ve listened to your words, I was not there, yeah, I was not there. I was in my friend’s place, like I told you.’
A detective asked Edwards why it was a ‘dirty park’ and he replied: ‘A dirty park? Well, what do you say happens in there?
‘So why I am going to put myself, a straight person, walk through a gay park at night time?’
A detective asked Edwards: ‘You said it makes you feel uncomfortable?’
He replied: ‘It does make me feel uncomfortable, yeah, of course it does. In my eyes it is dirty.’
Thomas Edwards, Senior Crown Prosecutor with the CPS said: ‘The level of violence from all three defendants was truly shocking, with the evidence showing that they appeared to enjoy the cruelty of what they were doing.
‘Throughout the court process our thoughts have remained with the family and friends of Dr Jenkins, who is so clearly missed.’
