Barry Williams (spree killer)
Barry Williams | |
---|---|
Born | Barry Kenneth Williams 1944 |
Died | Merseyside, England | 24 December 2014 (aged 69 or 70)
Nationality | British |
Other names | Harry Street |
Known for | Spree killings of 5 people |
Criminal charges |
|
Criminal penalty | Indefinite detention under mental health legislation (twice) |
Criminal status | Detained in a high-security hospital, died while institutionalised |
Barry Kenneth Williams (1944 – 24 December 2014), known since 1994 as Harry Street, was a
After being given a conditional release in 1994, he changed his name, moved to Wales, and married. In 2014, following allegations of harassment against his neighbours, he was convicted of further firearms offences. He was again ordered to be detained in a secure hospital, with little likelihood of release, and died in December 2014.
Background
At the time of his first offence, Williams was an unmarried foundry worker. He lived at 14 Andrew Road[1][2] on the Bustleholme Mill estate in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England with his elderly parents, Hilda and Horrace, who owned and ran a metal polishing business in Birmingham.[1][3][4]
He held a valid
During the mid 1970s, he had been involved in a number of disputes with his neighbours, the Burkitt family, of 16 Andrew Road, alleging that the noise of their television and record player disturbed him and his parents.[3][4] This became an obsession, and he suffered the delusion that his neighbours were mocking him.[4] On one occasion, during a row about noise, he told Philip Burkitt, "I'm going to exterminate you".[4]
1978 incident
On the evening of 26 October 1978, about a week after the extermination threat, George Burkitt and his 20-year-old son Philip were working on Philip's
After discharging a total of 23 rounds,
At around 8:10pm,[10] Williams shot and killed another married couple, Michel and Lisa Di Maria, after stopping to use the petrol filling station which they ran, Arbury Road Service Station, in Stockingford, Nuneaton, Warwickshire,[1][8][11] some 20 miles (32 km) from his home.[12] Lisa was killed immediately, and Michel died later in hospital.[7]
Williams slept rough in some woodland,[13] and was arrested the next morning, in Spring Gardens, Buxton, after a 30 miles (48 km) car chase at high speed, starting on the Derbyshire moors.[7] After his car was involved in a collision,[10] he pulled a gun and attempted to hijack one of the police cars which had been following him.[13] He was overpowered without firing his gun by the unarmed officers who had been pursuing him.[10] He later said he had wanted the police to shoot him.[7] Police found 147 9mm and 770 .22 rounds in his car, along with the .22 calibre pistol which had a full magazine,[7] and several home-made bombs.[13]
He was subsequently charged with five counts of murder.[8] Two counts of attempted murder were ordered to lie on file.[3]
In March 1979 at Stafford Crown Court he pleaded not guilty to murder but instead pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.[7][8] The plea was accepted by the prosecution,[7] after psychiatrists gave evidence that he had an active paranoid psychosis.[3] His indefinite detention was ordered by the trial judge, Mr Justice Stephen Brown,[7][8] and he was held in Broadmoor Hospital and at Ashworth Hospital, both high security units.[13]
His parents described him as "a quiet boy" and said they had "no idea" of what he had been preparing to do.[4]
Release
Williams, who had schizophrenia,[14] was released from hospital in 1994 once doctors and a mental health tribunal decided that he was no longer a risk to the public.[15] This was on condition that he could be detained again if his behaviour warranted it.[6][13] A Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust spokesman said in 2014, "Harry Street was released on a conditional discharge, subject to specific conditions, in 1993 [sic] by a Mental Health Tribunal, an independent judicial body, after careful consideration of the medical evidence presented to them."[15]
On release, he changed his name to Harry Street
2013 incident
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/Ashworth_Hospital_-_geograph.org.uk_-_90341.jpg/220px-Ashworth_Hospital_-_geograph.org.uk_-_90341.jpg)
In October 2013, allegations arose that he had waged a campaign of harassment against his next-door neighbour.
At
West Midlands Police announced after the trial concluded that a
He died on 24 December 2014 from a suspected heart attack.[14]
References
- ^ a b c d e Osman, Arthur (28 October 1978). "Murder charge after car chase". The Times. Retrieved 6 October 2014. (subscription required)
- ^ 52°33′04″N 1°58′22″W / 52.55120°N 1.97268°W
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "A killing spree that shocked Britain - How Harry Street's rampage unfolded". Express & Star. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h McCarthy, Nick. "The night Barry Williams killed five people after neighbour dispute over noise". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
- ^ Jeys, Anna (12 October 2014). "Serial killer Barry Williams dressed like gun-toting television detectives Starsky & Hutch - Birmingham Mail". Retrieved 18 October 2014.
- ^ a b c Wheeler, Caroline (26 October 2003). "This man killed five people in a gun rampage ...now he's back in the Midlands; Twenty-five years ago today a crazed gunman went on a killing spree in the Midlands". Sunday Mercury. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Gunman who shot 5 sent to Broadmoor". The Glasgow Herald. 27 March 1979. p. 3. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f "1978 West Bromwich killings remembered". BBC News. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
- ^ "1978: Gunman runs amok in West Midlands". BBC Online. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h McCarthy, Nick (6 October 2014). "Harry Street: Timeline of a serial killer". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
- ^ a b c "Spree killer Harry Street pleads guilty to making bomb". BBC News. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
- ^ "How Far is it Between Andrew Road, West Bromwich and Stockingford, Nuneaton". Retrieved 8 October 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Greatrex, Jonny (6 October 2014). "Replay: Serial killer Barry Williams stockpiled weapons under new identity - live updates from Birmingham Crown Court". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
- ^ a b "Mass killer Harry Street - who shot dead five people - dies in hospital". Express and Star. 28 December 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c Evans, Martin (6 October 2014). "Calls for law to be changed after Broadmoor killer Barry Williams is released without supervision". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
- ^ Cartledge, James (7 October 2014). "Ex-West Bromwich MP Peter Snape: 'It beggars belief that Harry Street was not being monitored'". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
- ^ McCarthy, Nick (7 October 2014). "Serial killer Barry Williams who shot dead Nuneaton couple may never be released after collecting arsenal of weapons". The Coventry Telegraph. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
- ^ The Nightmare Neighbour Next Door, Series 4, episode 5. First aired 26 August 2015.
- ^ a b Evans, Martin (6 October 2014). "Mass killer Harry Street is detained indefinitely after admitting bomb plot". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
- ^ Cartledge, James. "Harry Street: Serious case review launched into how authorities 'lost' serial killer who changed name from Barry Williams". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 7 October 2014.