Chesterfield man who murdered and cut up landlord jailed for life

Graham Snell told police Daniel Walsh had been stealing from his bank account

A man who murdered his landlord, and tried to feed the dismembered remains to badgers, has been jailed for life.

Parts of Graham Snell, 71, were found down a badger sett, in a communal bin, and in woodland in Chesterfield.

Daniel Walsh, 30, said he cut up the body after finding him dead on 20 June but was convicted of murder last month.

At Derby Crown Court Judge Nirmal Shant said it was a "gruesome and systematic" attempt to dispose of the body and jailed Walsh for at least 27 years.

• Latest news and stories from the East Midlands

The trial had heard on the last day he was seen alive, Mr Snell told police that Walsh had been stealing from his bank account.

The cause of Mr Snell's death remains unknown due to the damage to his corpse, the court previously heard.

The majority of his body parts were found in the summer of 2019 but his head and arms were discovered in February this year after Walsh marked their location on a map for officers.

In the days after murdering his Mr Snell, Walsh bought saws, rubble sacks and an incinerator but also visited a massage parlour and casino, the court heard.

The court heard Walsh had previously been jailed for stealing from Mr Snell

Walsh, who was jailed for stealing £5,000 from Mr Snell in 2009, refused to attend the hearing.

Judge Shant said: "The cause of his death remains unascertained.

"That is because only you know how you killed him."

But she said the attempts to hide the body were "gruesome and systematic".

"What you did over the next few days was systematically do everything in your power to get away with the murder of Graham Snell.

"You dismembered his body, you burnt his belongings and items you had used to dismember him.

"Last but not least you took a taxi to a badger sett which you were previously aware of and dug up many holes in which you deposited different parts of him in the hope no doubt that he would be eaten by the badgers," Judge Shant said.

Walsh also applied for an emergency passport with the intention of fleeing to France but was arrested before he could travel, the court heard.

Police said Mr Walsh referred to the older man as "uncle" and Mr Snell called his lodger "nephew", but there was no family link.