Tunstall stab victim's relatives speak out: 'I hope you rot in hell you murderer'

THE family of murder victim Kelvin Williams are 'delighted' with the life sentence handed to his killer.

Jason Mayer will spend at least 22 years behind bars after admitting stabbing the father-of-four to death in his Tunstall home on December 17.

Members of Mr Williams's family filled the public gallery at Birmingham Crown Court as Mrs Justice Beverley Lang sentenced Mayer yesterday.

They each wore forget-me-knot flowers held in K-shaped broaches as a tribute to the murdered man.

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As Mayer, pictured below, was led from the court to begin his sentence, one family member yelled: "I hope you rot in hell you murdering b******."

The sentencing brings to an end an 11-month wait for justice for Mr Williams's family.

They say Mr Williams was a vulnerable 58-year-old who suffered from depression and alcoholism, which had led to strained relations with his children and 15 grandchildren.

But according to daughter Teresa Williams, he had been attempting to address these problems before his life was brutally cut short.

Mrs Williams, aged 33, of Sandyford, said: "Dad was trying to get better. He was getting treatment at Adsis and he'd made appointments for rehab.

"It just makes his murder even more tragic. There are some of his grandchildren who he never even got the chance to meet.

"We're delighted with the sentence – we couldn't have hoped for anything better really. It is a relief that it is all over now.

"It has been difficult waiting for this since dad was murdered. We never really knew what had happened to him."

The court heard how 42-year-old Mayer had visited Mr Williams at his Westbourne Drive home seeking money to fund his drink and drug addiction.

Mayer had just been released from prison a few days earlier, and had known Mr Williams after previously agreeing to sell a model aeroplane for him.

After stabbing Mr Williams up to 59 times, Mayer visited his ex-wife's house where he confessed his crime to his teenage son.

He told him that he believed he would be going to prison. Mayer also made confessions to a friend and his ex-wife.

These confessions resulted in family members reporting the murder to the police, who subsequently found Mr Williams's body.

Traces of Mayer's DNA were recovered from the scene, and following Mayer's arrest, Mr Williams's blood was found on his clothing.

Faced with this evidence against him, Mayer made no comment in police interview, but he eventually entered a guilty plea on the day his murder trial was due to begin last month.

He pleaded guilty on the basis that he had not brought the knife to Mr Williams's home, and that he had not carried out the murder for gain. This was accepted by the prosecution.

Mr Williams's brother-in-law Tony Heath said the end of the court proceedings would finally allow family members to grieve properly.

The 62-year-old, of Milton, said: "Since Kelvin was murdered last December it's been like an extended funeral. We've never had any closure at all.

"But now that we won't have to come to court any more, we can come to terms with what has happened in our own different ways."