Legal News

The Central Criminal Court has sentenced to life two men who committed murder over a crack cocaine debt they owed.

A jury at the Old Bailey heard that Nicholas Wood, 42, and Tim Clark, 51, had armed themselves with weapons – including a knife, a blowtorch and screwdriver – before luring Terry Wiggins, 34, to a bedsit in Erith, southeast London on 17 November 2015.

The men beat and stabbed Mr Wiggins to death because they were “annoyed” that he had put a TV worth £5,000 he had taken from them as collateral on the debt for sale online to recoup the money they owed him.

They also assaulted and took prisoner Mr Wiggins' friend, Matthew Wheeler, 42, who had gone to the flat earlier to collect the money.

He lay injured in the kitchen in fear of his life as Wood and Clark carried out the killing in another room, the court heard.

CPS London homicide lawyer, Navnit Dosanjh, said:

“These two men both used extreme violence to kill Terry Wiggins because of a £420 drug debt, which he wanted repaid.

“They lured him to the flat, where they had already taken Mr Wheeler prisoner – and where they were lying in wait to carry out a sustained and brutal attack with a number of different weapons.

“Following the attack, they made no attempt to call emergency services, but fled – leaving Mr Wiggins to die.

“Their defence case that neither played any part in the murder was dismantled at the trial with CCTV and DNA evidence and witness testimony.

“Two extremely dangerous men are now off the streets and behind bars.”

The Central Criminal Court sentenced Wood and Clark to life for murder, with a minimum of 23 years – as well as a nine-year jail sentence for false imprisonment, to be served concurrently.

Duncan Lewis Crime Lawyers – Violent Crime

Duncan Lewis can advise at any stage a charge involving violent crime, including gang crime, robbery with violence, gun crime, knife crime, murder, manslaughter, rape and ABH/GBH or assault.

There are Duncan Lewis offices across England and Wales and a Duncan Lewis criminal defence solicitor can usually reach a police station for interview under caution within an hour.

For expert legal advice on charges relating to violent crime, call Duncan Lewis crime lawyers on 0333 772 0409.

For 24/7 help at a police station, call the Duncan Lewis Solicitors Emergency Helpline on 0333 772 0607.