Man jailed for killing flatmate in 'snitch' row

"I'm the perpetrator, not the victim - I stabbed a girl through the throat," Pablo Hoad said in his 999 call

A man who fatally stabbed his flatmate in the head and neck during a row over whether a friend was a "snitch" has been jailed for 17 years.

Shannon Stanley, 27, died at the flat she shared with Pablo Hoad and his girlfriend in Small Heath, Birmingham, in the early hours of 10 May, 2022.

Hoad, 29, was cleared of murder, but found guilty of manslaughter at a trial at Birmingham Crown Court in December.

He told police he killed Ms Stanley, who was originally from Swindon, after drinking 10 bottles of Stella Artois and smoking cannabis.

The court heard the argument started when Hoad demanded that Ms Stanley's friend left the flat after describing him as a "snitch", prompting her to become angry with him.

During the trial, a witness described how Hoad dragged Ms Stanley into the kitchen where he slammed her against the worktop and stabbed her repeatedly in the head and neck before fleeing the building.

Prosecutor Richard Atkins KC described it as a "frenzied knife attack" on an "unarmed woman" and that Ms Stanley received a minimum of 11 blows to the head and neck.

"Shannon was a feisty girl but she was also kind and would help anyone," her mother said

Defence barrister Peter Finnigan KC said Hoad had claimed he was faced with a knife and that he "maintained at all times he wouldn’t have done what he did if he had not been confronted with a weapon himself".

However, Judge Melbourne Inman KC said: "I am wholly satisfied on the evidence that Shannon did not at any stage confront you with a knife.

"She was drunk and both verbally aggressive and threatening to you and you reacted in violent temper, and inflicted violence wholly disproportionate to any threat that Shannon Stanley presented to you."

Referring to the jury, who convicted Hoad of manslaughter but not murder, the judge said: "The jury clearly rejected your evidence that you were acting in self defence, but were not sure that you intended to cause Shannon at least really serious injury."

Friends called an ambulance and provided emergency aid to Ms Stanley, but she died at the scene.

After fleeing the address, Hoad went to a friend's house and called the police.

During the call he confessed to stabbing Ms Stanley, telling the call handler: "I'm the perpetrator, not the victim. I went too far. I stabbed a girl through the throat."

The case went to Birmingham Crown Court in November 2023, after another jury was unable to return a verdict in 2022.

Det Insp Jim Mahon said Hoad was argumentative and had a "propensity for violence"

In his sentencing remarks, Judge Melbourne Inman KC said the attack "arose from an argument over nothing and your response was to inflict serious and wholly disproportionate violence using a knife".

He described Hoad as a "dangerous offender" adding the public needed to be protected from him.

'Self-confessed narcissist'

As well as the 17 years in jail, Hoad was told he would face a further four on extended licence.

Det Insp Jim Mahon from West Midlands Police, who led the investigation, told the BBC that Hoad was a very argumentative man and a self-confessed narcissist who "obviously had a propensity for violence".

"During the trial, he argued with most people that he came across, including the judge and the legal professionals that were working with him within the court room," he said.

Det Insp Mahon said the violence of Hoad's attack could be seen in the disparity between the injuries that he and Ms Stanley suffered.

In a victim impact statement read out by Richard Atkins KC, Ms Stanley's mother Jacqueline Lewis, said: "Shannon was my only daughter and since losing her my world has come crashing down. I can't accept the fact she won’t ever come back.

"The first Christmas and birthday without Shannon was heartbreaking and it will be like that forever now."

Ms Lewis said she had trouble sleeping, could not get out of bed some days, and could not pick up a knife without thinking about what Hoad had done to her daughter.

Shaun Stanley lights a candle every night in memory of his sister

Addressing Hoad in her statement, she said: "I cannot hold her and tell her how much I love her because you took her away from me.

"I won’t ever see her grow old, settle down and have her own children because of you.

"You did not just take my daughter’s life, you also took my life."

Shannon's brother, Shaun Stanley, told the BBC that he felt numb after the death of his sister.

"I died when she did. I died that same day. It's been two years, and even now it hasn't sunk into my head," he said.

Mr Stanley's flat is filled with photos of his sister, where he lights a candle every night in her memory.

"She had the biggest heart ever. She'd always help out anyone," he said.

The West Midlands Police force area has the worth rate of knife crime in England and addressing the issue, Mr Stanley said: "If anyone's got any troubles, don't use knives.

"Before you pick up a knife, think of the people that's affected. It kills families, it ruins lives."