Homophobic killers of Dr Gary Jenkins have sentence appeals denied

Two men convicted of murdering Dr. Gary Jenkins in Cardiff earlier this year have had their requests to appeal their sentences rejected.

Dr. Jenkins was attacked by Jason Edwards, Lee Strickland, and Dionne Timms-Williams in July 2021 and died 16 days later.

In March, Edwards and Strickland were given a total sentence of 32 years and 123 days. Timms-Williams, 17 at the time, was sentenced to a minimum of 17 years and 125 days.

On Wednesday (9 November) judges in Cardiff disagreed with Edwards and Strickland’s appeal that their sentences were “excessive” and denied the pair the ability to appeal, the South Wales Argus reports.

Lord Justice Holroyde, Mrs. Justice Foster, and Mr. Justice Griffiths agreed there had been a number of aggravating factors to the incident in July 2021, including that it was homophobically motivated.

During a trial, a jury heard how Dr. Jenkins, who identified as bisexual and had been previously married with children, would visit the park “looking for sexual contact with like-minded men”.

The court was told how Strickland, Edwards, and Timms-Williams had gone to the Summerhouse cafe area of Bute Park, where men would often meet for sex and they found Dr. Jenkins.

They then beat, kicked, and punched him for nearly 30 minutes before robbing him. A post-mortem concluded that the cause of death was blunt head injury and bleeding on the brain after he had been “viciously beaten, robbed, tortured”. 

On Wednesday, Mr. Justice Griffiths said Edwards said of Strickland and Edwards’ sentences: “It was a long sentence but cannot be said to be manifestly excessive of the facts of this case.”

He added, “We don’t consider Edwards’ appeal against sentence to be arguable and we therefore dismiss Edwards’ application for leave.”

Hundreds gathered in Cardiff for a vigil for Dr. Jenkins after the trial.