Biggav
Inactive User
The story goes in my local area a man was murdered with a knife through the heart while on the way to take pictures of the snow on some local scenery apparently the killer was trying to steal his camera.
The local paper printed a 2 page article from the killers family (link here + pasted below)
I would be grateful if you could send the editor or the journalist your comments on what you think about the article. In my opinion its an absolute disgrace. or post your comments here please.
News - SouthTyneside Today: News, Sport, Jobs, Property, Cars, Entertainments & More
FAMILY STANDING BY LEE'S MURDERER
A MURDERER was today defended by his family as he faces life behind bars for stabbing Lee Phipps to death.
And we can reveal that 21-year-old Scott Nichols's mother pleaded for help through the pages of the Gazette when he was just 11 years old – and already on the downward spiral that would lead to him ending up with Mr Phipps's blood on his hands.
Nichols's loved ones have broken their silence as they prepare for the two-month wait until the Newcastle Crown Court hearing at which they will learn how long the killer must spend in jail before being considered for release.
While admitting he has a disgraceful history of bad behaviour behind him, they have blamed his actions on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) – a condition his mother, Alison Sword, says she also suffers from.
Today, they tell us how Nichols the petty thief and robber is adjusting to life as Nichols the killer.
...
"ONE main thing we want to make clear," said Alison Sword, the mother of killer Scott Nichols, "is that we sympathise with Lee Phipps's family. What they have gone through must be terrible.
"But we have to get our side across. We have to explain Scott isn't as violent as people have made out and he isn't the kind of person that people have said.
"Since he was convicted, there have been things printed about him he can't defend and we have to do that on his behalf – people have to see him for what he is, not what they are led to believe."
Speaking from Nichols's grandmother's home in King George Road, South Shields, Mrs Sword was just doors away from the home her son's victim shared with his mother. Lee Phipps had walked past the same house on his way to Cleadon Hills on March 2, where he was to take photographs of the snow.
He was stabbed in the heart on a dirt track in what Nichols claims was a bungled robbery for the victim's camera bag.
Mrs Sword claimed: "Scott must have been terrified in order to use the knife because he's not a violent person.
"But when he got home, I couldn't tell there was anything wrong at all.
"Even when he was arrested I didn't believe it was him and he denied any involvement. But he was very quiet. Normally he would have been out and about but he just stayed in. He was withdrawn."
Nichols, of Borough Road, South Shields – who already had 37 convictions to his name including robbery with violence – was eventually charged with murder, which is when the gravity of the situation started to hit home.
His sister Keely Holmes, 27, from West Harton, said: "When he phoned me from the police station, I was just expecting to pick him up but he told me he was charged and was in court next day.
"That's when he started crying. That's when he told me he had done it. He kept saying 'I can't believe what I have done'. I think the charge was when it hit him properly and I think it wasn't until the details of what had happened were in the paper that it clicked with him exactly what he had done."
Mrs Sword, who blames some of her son's behaviour on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), said: "Between then and his guilty plea has been horrendous for all of us."
She added: "No words can describe how I feel that my son is a murderer. This is something that all of us have to live with for the rest of our lives.
"I have no choice but to cope with it. All of us have the rest of the family around us – but Scott will just have to manage in any way he can, even though he won't discuss how he feels with us.
"He is still very withdrawn in prison and has lost a lot of weight. I think he has changed as a person because he understands what he has done."
n Nichols will find out in early January how long he will spend behind bars before he is considered for release.
...
ON February 3, 1997, the Gazette ran a story with the headline Lock my boy away!
Although there were no names in the article, it was a heartfelt plea from Alison Sword about her 11-year-old boy Scott Nichols, who had been offending since the age of just five.
At the time of publication, Nichols was at a special school in Bath but had already been assessed by specialist medical teams and had even undergone brain scans to try to find the root of his criminal behaviour, which included burglary and theft.
At one point in his criminal career, he was implicated in 20 crimes – aged just nine.
But his offending was getting worse – and even though in 1997 he had only just passed the point where he could have received his first criminal conviction, he was driving his mother to the point of desperation.
In the story, his mother said: "I've bought special locks for the windows and I've even nailed the front door shut at nights but he still gets out.
"One time the police brought him home and he had disappeared out of a window before they had left the house.
"Social services have tried placing him with a school near Bath for kids with behavioural problems, but he just kept running away. The school was making progress with him but he wouldn't stay put.
"He needs to be in a controlled place that he can't get out of – and that means a secure unit.
"I'm convinced it's the only way of pulling him round."
Ironically she added: "I know there is some good there, if only we can bring it out."
But a council spokesman said: "We try to find the best place for the needs of the child.
"All care for children with educational and behavioural difficulties is costly and it is not always available locally.
"We have looked at this boy's case very closely and believe we are giving him the best care we can.
"Making an application to place a youngster in a secure home is a very serious move which needs a Government order.
"We do not feel it appropriate in this case."
By MURRAY KELSO
[email protected]
The local paper printed a 2 page article from the killers family (link here + pasted below)
I would be grateful if you could send the editor or the journalist your comments on what you think about the article. In my opinion its an absolute disgrace. or post your comments here please.
News - SouthTyneside Today: News, Sport, Jobs, Property, Cars, Entertainments & More
FAMILY STANDING BY LEE'S MURDERER
A MURDERER was today defended by his family as he faces life behind bars for stabbing Lee Phipps to death.
And we can reveal that 21-year-old Scott Nichols's mother pleaded for help through the pages of the Gazette when he was just 11 years old – and already on the downward spiral that would lead to him ending up with Mr Phipps's blood on his hands.
Nichols's loved ones have broken their silence as they prepare for the two-month wait until the Newcastle Crown Court hearing at which they will learn how long the killer must spend in jail before being considered for release.
While admitting he has a disgraceful history of bad behaviour behind him, they have blamed his actions on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) – a condition his mother, Alison Sword, says she also suffers from.
Today, they tell us how Nichols the petty thief and robber is adjusting to life as Nichols the killer.
...
"ONE main thing we want to make clear," said Alison Sword, the mother of killer Scott Nichols, "is that we sympathise with Lee Phipps's family. What they have gone through must be terrible.
"But we have to get our side across. We have to explain Scott isn't as violent as people have made out and he isn't the kind of person that people have said.
"Since he was convicted, there have been things printed about him he can't defend and we have to do that on his behalf – people have to see him for what he is, not what they are led to believe."
Speaking from Nichols's grandmother's home in King George Road, South Shields, Mrs Sword was just doors away from the home her son's victim shared with his mother. Lee Phipps had walked past the same house on his way to Cleadon Hills on March 2, where he was to take photographs of the snow.
He was stabbed in the heart on a dirt track in what Nichols claims was a bungled robbery for the victim's camera bag.
Mrs Sword claimed: "Scott must have been terrified in order to use the knife because he's not a violent person.
"But when he got home, I couldn't tell there was anything wrong at all.
"Even when he was arrested I didn't believe it was him and he denied any involvement. But he was very quiet. Normally he would have been out and about but he just stayed in. He was withdrawn."
Nichols, of Borough Road, South Shields – who already had 37 convictions to his name including robbery with violence – was eventually charged with murder, which is when the gravity of the situation started to hit home.
His sister Keely Holmes, 27, from West Harton, said: "When he phoned me from the police station, I was just expecting to pick him up but he told me he was charged and was in court next day.
"That's when he started crying. That's when he told me he had done it. He kept saying 'I can't believe what I have done'. I think the charge was when it hit him properly and I think it wasn't until the details of what had happened were in the paper that it clicked with him exactly what he had done."
Mrs Sword, who blames some of her son's behaviour on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), said: "Between then and his guilty plea has been horrendous for all of us."
She added: "No words can describe how I feel that my son is a murderer. This is something that all of us have to live with for the rest of our lives.
"I have no choice but to cope with it. All of us have the rest of the family around us – but Scott will just have to manage in any way he can, even though he won't discuss how he feels with us.
"He is still very withdrawn in prison and has lost a lot of weight. I think he has changed as a person because he understands what he has done."
n Nichols will find out in early January how long he will spend behind bars before he is considered for release.
...
ON February 3, 1997, the Gazette ran a story with the headline Lock my boy away!
Although there were no names in the article, it was a heartfelt plea from Alison Sword about her 11-year-old boy Scott Nichols, who had been offending since the age of just five.
At the time of publication, Nichols was at a special school in Bath but had already been assessed by specialist medical teams and had even undergone brain scans to try to find the root of his criminal behaviour, which included burglary and theft.
At one point in his criminal career, he was implicated in 20 crimes – aged just nine.
But his offending was getting worse – and even though in 1997 he had only just passed the point where he could have received his first criminal conviction, he was driving his mother to the point of desperation.
In the story, his mother said: "I've bought special locks for the windows and I've even nailed the front door shut at nights but he still gets out.
"One time the police brought him home and he had disappeared out of a window before they had left the house.
"Social services have tried placing him with a school near Bath for kids with behavioural problems, but he just kept running away. The school was making progress with him but he wouldn't stay put.
"He needs to be in a controlled place that he can't get out of – and that means a secure unit.
"I'm convinced it's the only way of pulling him round."
Ironically she added: "I know there is some good there, if only we can bring it out."
But a council spokesman said: "We try to find the best place for the needs of the child.
"All care for children with educational and behavioural difficulties is costly and it is not always available locally.
"We have looked at this boy's case very closely and believe we are giving him the best care we can.
"Making an application to place a youngster in a secure home is a very serious move which needs a Government order.
"We do not feel it appropriate in this case."
By MURRAY KELSO
[email protected]
