Bury St Edmunds father and son guilty of 'vigilante style' murder

Neil Charles was found with a single stab wound to his chest and a slash wound to his knee

A father and son have been found guilty of murdering a thief in a "vigilante style" killing.

Neil Charles, 47, was stabbed in the chest in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, in June 2021. He had been seen trying car doors earlier that evening.

David King, 55, and Edward King, 19, both of Radnor Close, denied murder, with the father claiming Mr Charles had run on to the knife.

They are due to be sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court on 27 June.

During the trial, jurors heard David King was shown CCTV footage by his son of Mr Charles on his driveway and wanted to "stop and detain him".

David King claimed Neil Charles had run on to a knife, but was found guilty of murder

Suffolk Police said they received a 999 call from David King at about 03.55 BST on 20 June stating a man had been trying to steal from his car on the Moreton Hall estate.

King told the call centre that he had tried to apprehend the man who had run off.

He said he was not sure if Mr Charles was injured or "play acting", but may have been hurt when he ran at the knife he was holding.

During the trial, prosecutor Christopher Paxton QC said the two defendants were armed with a sword and dagger and wanted "rough justice".

Edward King, 19, was also found guilty of murdering Mr Charles

Officers found Mr Charles seriously wounded in Winsford Road and he died two days later.

Suffolk Police said its investigation found that on the night of the incident Mr Charles - who had a number of previous convictions for theft and burglary - had been trying car door and house handles on Moreton Hall.

A post-mortem examination concluded he died of a single 12cm (5in) stab wound to the chest.

Police said the dagger was used to inflict the fatal wound and the sword caused a horizontal wound above Mr Charles's left knee.

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During the trial both men denied intentionally killing Mr Charles, with David King maintaining his version of events that he had disturbed Mr Charles in the act of trying to break into his car and that he had run on to his knife.

However, Mr Paxton QC said the father and son had gone out to hunt down and attack Mr Charles.

He described the killing as "vigilante style".