A MAN has been jailed for life for the murder of a vulnerable alcoholic after plunging a knife into his neck four times.
Anthony Hart then poured brandy over Frank Betteridge before setting him alight and fleeing the scene.
Today, jurors at Teesside Crown Court returned the verdict after six hours of deliberation and Judge Howard Crowson told Hart that he would serve a minimum of 21 years before being eligible for release.
The 39-year-old admitted killing Mr Betteridge claiming he had been awoken by his unwanted sexual advances before losing control and stabbing him to death.
Teesside Crown Court heard how the 62-year-old's body was found in his bungalow on Stephens Road, South Bank, Middlesbrough, by one of his relatives on December 27, 2019.
Nick Dry, prosecuting, told the jury that Hart had used money stolen from the victim to buy a kebab within minutes of stabbing him to death before heading to his Stockton home in a taxi where he went on a 'drugs orgy' with friends.
Hart's defence barrister, Crispin Aylett QC, had urged the jury to find his client not guilty of murder and accept that 'he lost control' after being sexually assaulted by Mr Betteridge.
Judge Crowson sentenced Hart, of Hartington Road, Stockton, this afternoon.
He said: "He was clearlly a man said to be generous with what he had, even though he had little. He showed you kindness and hospitality which you clearly abused.
"You spent the days and nights prior to this using and abusing drugs."
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