Murderer of paedophile jailed for minimum 20 years

Andrew Southwood, pictured, killed Carl Ball, his girlfriend's brother and a convicted paedophile, in a "ferocious attack"

A man who killed a convicted paedophile with a wooden plank has been given a life sentence and will spend a minimum of 20 years in prison.

Andrew Southwood, 39, beat Carl Ball to death in a “ferocious attack” on Heron Way, Duffryn, Newport in August 2022.

Southwood denied murder but was found guilty after a trial last month.

A judge at Newport Crown Court said the killing was “slow, painful and humiliating”.

The 51-year-old victim was a convicted rapist and paedophile and the brother of Southwood’s girlfriend.

He had served 10 years in prison for raping a woman and abusing a child.

Ambulance crews who attended the scene were not initially able to determine the severity of his internal injuries because no witnesses would explain the nature of the attack.

He suffered multiple internal injuries which caused him to bleed to death.

The court heard that, as he lay dying, he told officers that “Southwood did it.”

During his trial, Southwood claimed two men wearing Covid masks carried out the assault.

In a victim impact statement read in court, another of the victim's sisters, Michelle Lewis, described how she had started to rebuild her relationship with her brother in recent years.

She described him as having a “troubled” past but said he was a “changed person” who was “trying to get his life back on track”.

“He had paid for the crimes he had committed,” she said.

“My brother was assaulted in broad daylight outside his own home while neighbours just watched and did not help. I will never understand why nobody tried to help Carl before police arrived.”

“What happened to him fills me with anger. Carl was robbed of his life.”

Carl Ball died outside a property on Heron Way in Newport from multiple internal injuries

The court heard Southwood had 27 previous convictions for a total of 46 offences committed between 1998 and 2015.

The majority of those were for theft, but included incidents of assault, robbery, possession of an offensive weapon and battery.

Judge Mr Justice Griffiths said: "Carl Ball had a difficult life for which he’d served his time in prison.

“His last conviction was over 20 years before.

“In the 999 call made by Carl Ball he can be heard pleading with you to stop.

“It was an unprovoked attack of cruelty and brutality. His death was slow, painful and humiliating.”

As he was led from the dock, Southwood swore at the judge.

His family shouted “we love you” from the public gallery, as he was taken down to the cells.

Speaking after the sentencing, Det Supt Nick Wilkie, the senior investigating officer, said: “Andrew Southwood has shown no remorse for his crime and actively tried to mislead officers.

"This case is an example of taking the law into your own hands - one life has been lost and another will be spent in prison."