Man who drowned and dismembered priest has sentence doubled

A TEENAGER who drowned a retired clergyman and dismembered his body had the minimum term he must spend in custody for the murder doubled yesterday.

Three senior judges in London’s Court of Appeal ruled that Christopher Hunnisett, now 19, from Hastings, East Sussex, who was convicted last year of the murder of 81-year-old the Rev Ronald Glazebrook, must serve a minimum of 11 years before he can be considered for parole.

Lord Justice Kennedy, sitting with Mr Justice Pitchers and Michael Wright, agreed with submissions made on behalf of the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith QC, that the minimum term of five-and-a half years fixed by the trial judge was “unduly lenient”.

Hunnisett, who was 17 at the time of the murder, was ordered to be detained at Her Majesty’s Pleasure following a trial at Lewes Crown Court.

He was found guilty by a jury of murdering Mr Glazebrook at his home in St Leonards, where the teenager was a lodger. Mr Glazebrook’s severed head and limbs were found in a bag behind Summerfield leisure centre in Hastings and his torso off the A259 road near Eastbourne.

Hunnisett was present in the dock of the court for yesterday’s hearing.

Lord Justice Kennedy said it had been argued on behalf of the Attorney General that a minimum term of five-and-a-half years failed to meet the gravity of the case. He said the court was “satisfied” that the part of the sentence complained about was “unduly lenient”. The judges substituted the minimum term of 11 years.

Hunnisett had denied murder but he and another teenager had pleaded guilty to conspiring to prevent the clergyman’s lawful burial. At the trial the jury heard Mr Glazebrook, who had taken the teenager in as an act of charity, was drowned in his bath.

The prosecution case was that Hunnisett killed him because he planned to evict him from his flat after being bullied by the youth.

Counsel for the Attorney General told the Appeal Court yesterday that it was a “dreadful case of its type”.

East Sussex Chief Crown Prosecutor, Alison Saunders said after the ruling: “The murder of Rev Ronald Glazebrook by Christopher Hunnisett was a cold, callous and calculated act and caused great pain and trauma for all the vicar’s family and friends.

“We believed that the crime warranted a greater sentence and are pleased that the Appeal Court has endorsed that view.”