Gulf War veteran stabbed partner 40 times

A Gulf War veteran who murdered his estranged partner with three knives was today jailed for life.

Ex-Royal Artillery gunner Paul Delaney, 30, stabbed mother-of-two Colleen Chudley up to 40 times at her home in Park Close, Silverton, Devon, England, on January 16 last year.

Delaney, of Winchester Gardens, Plymouth, who was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after the war, had denied murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, a plea the prosecution did not accept.

Sentencing him at Exeter Crown Court, Mrs Justice Hallett said: “You are a walking timebomb. It is not clear when you will ever be anything else than dangerous.”

There was applause and shouting from members of Ms Chudley’s family in the public gallery when Delaney was led to the cells.

At his first trial at the same court in March this year, the jury was discharged after failing to agree to a verdict after 13 hours.

Today, they took just 70 minutes to convict Delaney of murder.