Life in jail for man guilty of alleyway murder

Jason Hale was found guilty of attacking a man at the same spot two nights before Sheldon Jameson's murder

A man found guilty of stabbing two men at the same spot in Doncaster, one of them fatally, within days of each other has been jailed for life.

A trial at Sheffield Crown Court had heard that Jason Hale, 37, had armed himself with a knife before fatally attacking Sheldon Jameson, 42, in an alleyway on 19 September 2024.

The trial was told that Hale had also stabbed another man in the "exact same location, in the exact same circumstances" on 17 September - but that man had survived and he later gave evidence.

Hale, of no fixed abode, was found guilty of murder and was sentenced at the same court on Thursday to life with a minimum of 23 years.

He was also jailed for eight years for attempted robbery, and nine years for wounding with intent to cause GBH, the sentences to run concurrently.

The court had previously heard that CCTV footage showed Hale loitering around the alleyway on the nights of both attacks, leading to him being referred to during the trial as the "lurker in the shadows".

Sentencing Hale, Recorder Jeremy Richardson KC told the court that while the 37-year-old claimed he had acted in self defence on both occasions, the fact he had committed "strikingly similar" attacks over the course of two days - and the fact the victims' injuries were so forceful - meant that suggestion was "fanciful".

Meanwhile, Mr Jameson was also unarmed, Mr Richardson said.

He told Hale: "The CCTV does not reveal a man acting in fear - the evidence is compelling. You have an easy way with knives and the two attacks are almost identical."

The court had also heard that Hale had tried to dispose of a knife in his toilet and another knife was found in his jogging bottoms after he had been arrested.

Sheldon Jameson was taken to hospital after being found injured but later died

It emerged during the trial that Hale had previously threatened Mr Jameson and others, warning he would "blade them up".

Hale had been under the influence of drugs during the attacks and possibly attempting to buy more, the court was told.

During the sentencing hearing, Mr Richardson told Hale: "The backdrop to this appalling criminality is drug taking and drug peddling.

"It underpins so much criminality in our country, and it unquestionably formed the backdrop to your serious violence."

Prosecutor Charlotte Baines read out a victim impact statement from Mr Jameson's father, Gordon, in which he said his son was "kind-hearted" despite his struggles with drugs.

"I will never recover from the news that Sheldon was murdered. He comes from a big family so it has affected a lot of people," he stated.

"He was not just an addict. He was only 42 and will never get married or have children now."

"Sheldon was not just my son, he was my best friend," Mr Jameson added.

Sentencing Hale to life with a minimum of 25 years, but minus the time he had already spent in custody, Mr Richardson told him: "You deliberately robbed and stabbed someone with a deep slash wound on 17 September.

"You committed an almost identical attack two days later - but this ended in murder.

"You have unquestionably labelled yourself as a man of violence."

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