Philip Heggarty
| AKA | |
| DOB | 1983 |
| Occupation | |
| Kill Total | 1 |
| Kill Place | Swansea |
| Kill Date | April 2003 |
| M.O. | Beating |
| Victim | Derek Bennett |
| Court | Swanmsea Crown Court |
|---|---|
| Judge | Mr Justice Evans |
| Prosecution | Greg Bull QC |
| Defence | Andrew Shanahan |
April 2003, Best friends Philip Heggarty and Derek Bennett were out together drinking in the pubs of Swansea, They then went on to a party. They then drove back to Heggarty's home in Clare Road in the Grangetown area of Swansea.
once there Bennett passed out on the sofa and was violently attacked with what is believed to be a hammer, no murder weapon was ever discovered.
The motive was greed, Bennett was carrying up to £3,000 in cash and a further £10,000 in drugs.
After the incident it was found that Heggarty had paid off a debt of £1,500 that same day, and a stash of drugs were found in his girlfriends flat.
Firemen discovered Mr Bennett's body in the back of his blazing Renault Laguna in the car park of the Earl Haig British Legion Club in Whitchurch, Cardiff, two days later, it had been wrapped in a rug, previously from Heggarty's front room.
The body was so badly burnt, Mr Bennett could only be identified from dental records. His skull had been broken in over 20 places.
July 2004, The jury at Swansea Crown court, were told that Mr Bennett's blood was found inside Heggarty's flat in Clare Road in Grangetown, and on clothes he was wearing on the night of the killing. Heggarty's fingerprints were also discovered in the blood on a wall in the cellar of the flat
Friday 23rd July 2004, Heggarty is found guilty of murder.
Sentencing Heggarty, the judge Mr Justice Roderick Evans described him as a "dangerous man". The judge added, the recommended starting point of 30 years for a crime like Heggarty's was "inadequate".
the court heard of Heggarty's previous convictions which included attempted murder and several violent robberies in which he targeted elderly people.
Heggarty goes onto the list held by the Home Office, of prisoners who will serve a 'Whole Life Tariff'. See list here >>
31st October 2014, Heggarty's counsel at London's Court of Appeal, argued that Mr Justice Evans, who is now retired, had made a mistake in imposing a life-long tariff.
Lady Justice Rafferty, sitting with Mr Justice Kenneth Parker and Mrs Justice Patterson, said: "The judge was clearly entitled to impose a whole-life order', the appeal was dismissed.