'Vampire' teen starts life sentence

A vampire-obsessed teenager was today beginning a life sentence after he was convicted of butchering his elderly neighbour and drinking her blood.

Baby-faced Mathew Hardman, 17, broke into the home of frail widow Mabel Leyshon and stabbed her to death before removing her heart and draining her blood into a saucepan.

The art student used pokers and candlesticks to create the trappings of a Black Mass before drinking the blood in a macabre ritual.

Hardman, of Llanfairpwll, Anglesey, England, was found guilty of murder after a jury at Mold Crown Court heard he was ‘‘obsessed’’ with vampires and the concept of immortality.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a recommendation to serve at least 12 years. The jury’s decision was unanimous.

The teenager, who has always denied any involvement in the murder, wept uncontrollably as Mr Justice Richards told him: ‘‘You hoped for immortality but all you have achieved is the brutal ending of another person’s life and the bringing of a life sentence upon yourself.’’

He also told him: ‘‘The horrific nature of this murder was plain to all. It was a vicious and sustained attack on a vulnerable old lady in her own home, aggravated by the mutilation of her body after she had been killed.

‘‘Why you should have acted in this way is difficult to comprehend but I am drawn to the conclusion that vampirism had indeed become a near obsession with you, that you really did believe that this myth may be true, that you did think that you would achieve immortality by the drinking of another person’s blood and you found this an irresistible attraction.

‘‘It may well seem incredible but in my judgment that is where the evidence leads.’’

Hardman had kept his cool throughout the 13-day trial but wept uncontrollably when the guilty verdict was read out after three-and-a-half hours of deliberation by the jury.

His mother, Julie Hardman, screamed ‘‘No! No!’’ from the public gallery and sobbed throughout the sentencing.

As her son was taken down, the smartly-dressed nurse leaned over the balcony and called out: ‘‘I love you, son.’’

Mrs Hardman later left the court building via a back door, refusing to answer questions.

A 17-year-old German girl who had earlier given evidence against Hardman also left the building in tears.

She had told the jury how, two months before the murder, he accused her of being a vampire and begged her to bite his neck so that he could become one of the creatures.

It was Hardman’s involvement in that bizarre incident which eventually led North Wales Police to track him down and match his DNA and footprints to forensic evidence taken from the crime scene.

They also searched his room to reveal a stash of vampire-related books, magazines and internet research.

Detective Superintendent Alan Jones, who led the investigation, commended his team for their diligence in catching Hardman, who was arrested in January this year, six weeks after the killing on November 24.

Speaking at a press conference after the guilty verdict, he described his team’s fear that Hardman may well have struck again.

He said: ‘‘Throughout the investigation I sensed they were determined to apprehend the offender because there was a real prospect he would re-offend, and a lot of the team and their families resided in the local area.’’

The detective went on to describe Hardman as a remorseless killer who used his dyslexia as a weapon to cloud the inquiry.

He said: ‘‘Through 16 hours of interview, he at no time offered any sympathy, any concern about Mabel Leyshon and what happened to her.

‘‘At times he didn’t directly answer questions. Evidence was given to the court about dyslexia but I think he hid behind that to avoid confronting times and issues around the 24th and 25th of November.

‘‘He was home that night when he should have been at work, he was home alone, he had no alibi and he had the opportunity.’’