A DRUG addict murdered a vulnerable man over unfounded Facebook rumours that he was a sex offender before dumping his body in a wheelie bin, a court was told.

Paul Watkins lured Craig Eade to his flat with the promise of crack cocaine and plied him with the drug before hitting him repeatedly with a hammer, kicking and stamping him and choking him, Newcastle Crown Court was told.

The Northern Echo:

Thinking the 23-year-old was dead, Watkins began wrapping him up. 
But when he realised he was still breathing, he got a kitchen knife and stabbed him in the throat causing “catastrophic blood loss”.

He bound his victim’s hands with cable ties, and wrapped him in a quilt and pillow case, before leaving him in the flat and going to buy more drugs.

Watkins, 36, of Northbourne Street, Gateshead, who dumped the body in a wheelie bin two days later, admitted the killing after he was arrested for breaking into a neighbour’s flat.

The killer gave the thumbs up to Judge Paul Sloan as he was sentence to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 18 years.

Passing sentence, the judge said: “You say you when you first formulated your plan you had set out to confront him and [only] hurt him a bit.

“However, having launched your attack, you did determine to kill him and stabbed him with a knife to ensure that he was dead.

“The attack was brutal, sustained and repeated and involved the use of weapons, namely a hammer and a knife, as well as feet, by kicking and stamping.

“The offence involved you taking the law into your own hands and taking it upon yourself to deliver retribution when you had no justification to do so.”

The court was told Mr Eade, who lived Durham Place, Deckham, Gateshead, had had been left with a global learning disability and ADHD after surviving a brain tumour as a boy.

He was the subject of rumours that he had committed a sexual offence and robberies, with messages placed on Facebook.

On February 24, Mr Eade was admitted to hospital after a number of men assaulted him.

When he was discharged Watkins went to his house on the pretext of getting drugs and lured him to his flat.

Mr Eade denied the rumours before the murderous attack.

Toby Hedworth, mitigating, said Watkins was “mortified” by what he had done and was completely remorseful.

The family of Mr Eade, paying tribute to him, said in a statement: “Craig was a much loved son, brother, uncle and nephew. He was a very happy lad with a big heart.

“We loved him and will always miss him. The one thing that gives us comfort is knowing that the person responsible is off the streets, we hope for good.”

Watkins, who has 107 offences previous convictions pleaded guilty to murder and to unrelated burglaries and possessing heroin with intent.

DCI Andy Fairlamb, who is leading the investigation, said: “We welcome the sentence handed down by the court today and we hope this gives Craig’s family some sense of justice.

“However, I want to make it clear that this investigation will continue and while Watkins has admitted to killing Craig, we want to establish the exact circumstances of that evening.

“Watkins’ guilty pleas has been accepted but we are still trying to establish the whole incident and not just the moment Craig was killed.

“I have a duty to seek full justice for Craig’s family and be absolutely certain that Paul Watkins was the only one responsible for Craig’s death.

“My condolences very much remain with Craig’s family and I want to commend them for their bravery during this difficult time.
“This has been a shocking case and we will seek to identify any one else involved and seek justice for the family.”

  • Anyone with any information about this incident is asked to contact the Homicide and Major Enquiries Team on 101 or independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.