A vicious knifeman who attacked a gay couple in their home – plunging a blade into one victim’s heart as he lay defenceless on the floor and stabbing his partner repeatedly – has been caged for life.
David Kilcullen, 46, of The Avenue, Bromley, Kent, left a horrific bloodbath and one man dead, with his partner fighting for his life, following the frenzied attack.
He was ordered to serve a minimum of thirty-two years before he can be considered for parole after an Old Bailey jury convicted him of murdering Gerry Edwards, 59, (pic. centre) and attempting to murder 57 year-old Chris Bevan (pic l.).
The horror began during a torrential rainstorm on March 3, when Kilcullen (pic.r.) knocked on the couple’s front door in Page Heath Villas, Bromley, a quiet suburban home they had shared for eighteen years.
Gerry recognized the defendant as a local man he had chatted with in the past and allowed his killer into the house – unaware he was armed with a large kitchen knife.
Hospital care worker Chris was sleeping upstairs and woke to a "terrible shriek" coming from the kitchen.
He came down the stairs and was confronted by Kilcullen standing in the doorway. "He had a knife and was saying, lie down or I'll kill you," Chris later told detectives.
Kilcullen began stabbing them despite obeying his orders to lie on the kitchen floor with Gerry dying almost instantly from a massive wound to the heart.
Chris staggered to his feet in an effort to distract Kilcullen from continuing the onslaught on Gerry and as he did, he received several stab wounds to his back.
Chris got as far as the sitting room next door where he collapsed into an armchair and by now the knife Kilcullen had used now had a shattered handle and the blade was bent.
Pathology evidence showed it had been used with such force it penetrated the thickness of Gerry's breastbone.
Kilcullen followed him into the sitting room and having discarded the knife began hitting him with bottles kept on a shelf near the armchair.
When the bottles broke he used the broken ends as stabbing weapons causing cutting and slashing injuries to Chris's face and head.
He had a number of deep lacerations to his scalp, forehead and left side of his face.
His lip was ripped and the top of his left ear was severed.
Despite this onslaught, Chris managed to make his way in the torrential rain to his neighbour's door and police and ambulance services, including the helicopter emergency service, arrived a few minutes later.
Chris had lost huge amounts of blood and went into cardiac arrest.
Paramedics carried out emergency life heart massage on Chris in the ambulance and technically, he died for several minutes.
He was taken to Kings College Hospital suffering from wounds to his torso, left arm and right hand.
The stab wounds into his back had punctured both lungs.
The post mortem examination revealed that the fatal wound to Gerry was a deep stab wound delivered with such force that it went straight through his breastbone which struck the pericardial sac that contains the heart and punctured his aorta.
Kilcullen inflicted two further stab wounds to the Gerry Edwards' chest plus a further stab wound that went straight through his left arm, partially penetrating his chest in the vicinity of his left armpit.
The killer spent the rest of the night boozing with a drinking buddy, confessing to his pal he went to the house to take the couple’s car.
Kilcullen called the police on March 4 claiming to be the murderer.
DCI Chris Lyons said: "He gave a twisted account of what had occurred. He sounded very intoxicated and unfortunately, it is not unknown for people to call police in this way to confess to major incidents.
"The telephone operator informed the murder team and we immediately went to Kilcullen's bedsit where a knife was found with the same handle and design as the murder weapon left at the scene, in the kitchen sink of Kilcullen's home.
"Further investigation established the link between the knives and although Kilcullen initially denied it, at his trial he admitted it was his and that he had taken it to the scene with socks on his hands to avoid leaving forensic evidence.
"He left one sock at the scene when it fell from his hand in the frenzied attack and as well as DNA profile from the sock, we recovered CCTV images of him with his friend in Petts Wood, a little over two miles away where he disposed of his bloodstained clothing in a large refuse container.
"In court, Kilcullen made an incredible claim that he was acting in self defence as both men were sexually assaulting him. He never said that to police in interview.
"Chris Bevan told us that he met Kilcullen once when he came to the flat and made homophobic comments about his relationship with Gerry.
“He has no idea why Kilcullen carried out this premeditated and frenzied attack on them - a quiet couple who had never harmed him in any way.
"If Chris had not escaped from the flat to raise the alarm, or if the medics had not brought him back to life on the way to the hospital, it is likely we would be looking at a double murder case.
“Kilcullen did not intend either man to survive and identify him as their attacker. He has never displayed any remorse for what he did.
"By cheating death in this way and by overcoming his physical problems to give evidence at court, Chris Bevan has seen Kilcullen brought to justice.
“Sadly the injuries caused to Chris that day are life changing and will serve along with the other mental scars to remind him forever of Kilcullen's monstrous actions."
Gerald’s sister Brenda Hayes said: "My dear brother Gerald was a kind, caring and generous man with a wonderful sense of humour.
"He was a free spirit who had a zest for life and loved to travel in his motorhome, especially to Wales and Scotland.
“He also made several trips to Canada, a country and people he fell in love with.
"Our whole family, including his niece and nephews, of which there are nine, his sisters, brother in law and all his friends and neighbours who knew, loved and respected Gerald, miss him greatly and feel heartbroken that his life was taken far too soon and in such a tragic and violent way.
"He surely did not deserve to die in that way and we will forever wonder why."
Judge Brian Barker told Kilcullen: "You showed no mercy to your victims, and your actions defy belief. You were aggressive, violent and overpowering with a high level of dangerousness.
"The victims were no match for you It was an arrogant and unfeeling attack. You have shown little regret or concern for what you did."
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