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Brutal killing in churchyard shocked everyone
Two teenage yobs kicked a father to death in the grounds of a church when he asked them for a cigarette.
The pair set upon Bill Wickham with such ferocity that they left the imprints of the soles of their shoes on his head and neck.
The boys, then aged 15 and 16, had been drinking bottles of beer late at night in the grounds of the Holy Trinity Church in Gosport when Mr Wickham approached them.
When the 44-year-old trawlerman, who had also been drinking, asked them for a cigarette the two boys turned on him and launched a savage attack.
They smashed a bottle over his head and then repeatedly stamped and kicked on Mr Wickham's head and neck as he lay on the ground in a ferocious attack.
The youths, who cannot be named for legal reasons, launched the unprovoked frenzy at 10.15pm on February 25. Their trainers and clothes were left covered in his blood as a result of the brutal beating.
The two yobs then rifled through Mr Wickham's pockets for cash and fled the scene leaving a trail of bloodied footprints. They left Mr Wickham in a pool of blood fighting for his life.
Mr Wickham, of South Street, Gosport, suffered horrific head and neck injuries during the attack and by the time emergency services arrived at the scene he had died from his wounds.
Just minutes after the attack the youths called 999 and told police they had witnessed an assault in the churchyard.
Police initially treated the teenagers as witnesses but soon realised they were dealing with Mr Wickham's attackers. Forensic tests on their clothes and shoes showed they were covered in Mr Wickham's blood.
Shoe prints found on Mr Wickham's body matched the soles of their shoes, and bloodied shoe prints close to the murder scene also matched their trainers.
Police described the attack as 'vicious and sustained'.
Detective Chief Inspector Gary O'Flaherty from the Major Crime Team said: 'This was an extremely vicious and sustained attack on someone who had little chance of defending themselves. These defendants rained down a series of blows on Mr Wickham as he lay on the floor, which had catastrophic consequences.'
He added: 'What is worrying about this case is that two young boys could commit such a violent and nasty crime in such a callous and uncaring way and then flee the scene leaving a man to die when they could have done so much to help him.
'It appears that picking up the remainder of their beers was more important than helping him.'
Today the two youths, who come from Gosport, face life behind bars after pleading guilty to murder.
The 15-year-old came clean and admitted his guilt on Friday while the other, now 17, pleaded guilty to murder at Winchester Crown Court yesterday on the day the trial was due to start. Both youths were remanded into the custody of the local authority until they are sentenced later this month.
Crime scene map
The News says'He loved his son Louis more than anything else in the world'
Bill Wickham was a devoted father to his young son Louis.
After his tragic death Mr Wickham's ex-partner Lynne Stevens described him as a 'fantastic dad'. The couple split up in 2000 but Mr Wickham remained in close contact with his son.
At the time of his death Mrs Stevens said: 'He loved Louis and he loved fishing, those were his two main loves in life.
'He took his son fishing a lot, took him to play on the common and he taught him how to ride his bike.
'He loved his son more than anything else in the world and the time he spent with him was like time Louis had with no other person.'
Mr Wickham had grown up in Gosport and worked as a trawler fisherman when he was in a relationship with Mrs Stevens.
But he was unemployed and had been drinking heavily at the time of his death.
At his funeral, which took place at the Holy Trinity Church, pictured above, dozens of friends and family turned out to pay their respects.
Mr Wickham's son stood in front of mourners and told the story of how, when in Ireland with his dad, he gave his father a stone he'd found and discovered that it had a crystal inside.
The stone, which Mr Wickham had kept, was placed just next to the coffin, which was covered with the Union Flag and flowers.
Attackers spun web of lies
Bill Wickham's teenage attackers were both well known to the police.
They had racked up previous convictions for assault, and played truant from school.
They tried to spin detectives a web of lies in a bid to cover up their horrific crime.
But their lies came crashing down around them as their alibi proved to be fabricated.
Either through arrogance, or stupidity, the youths contacted police on the night of the murder claiming to have witnessed the attack.
They even went so far as to provide officers with bogus witness statements about what they claimed they had seen.
But as their lies quickly snowballed police noticed inconsistencies.
Forensic tests on the youths' trainers and clothing backed up detectives' suspicions when traces of Mr Wickham's blood were found.
They were re-interviewed as suspects and the teenagers began to admit that they had attacked Mr Wickham. But they refused to accept that they were responsible for the horrific injuries which proved fatal.
Detective Chief Inspector Gary O'Flaherty said: 'It was surprising that these defendants made contact with us. As is so often the case, one lie led to another as they tried to provide their initial false account.'
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Weather for Portsmouth
Sunday 12 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 3 C to 7 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North west
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Temperature: 3 C to 7 C
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