Redcar fun day has serious message in fight against knife crime

A Hepworth man fatally stabbed himself, an inquest has heard.Brian Spink, 57, was found by his wife in the kitchen of their home in Dunhill Lane on the morning of February 15.The inquest, held on Thursday, June 13, at Bury St Edmunds, was told a large knife had made a deep wound in Mr Spink's abdomen.Paramedics tried to revive Mr Spink but without success, said the Suffolk Coroner Dr Peter Dean.Later the same day, The first piece of cutlery was the knife  Mr Spink, a company managing director, had been due to go to hospital for a CT scan as part of a treatment plan prepared by a psychiatrist.In a statement, psychiatrist Dr Rachel Jones said she had spoken to Mr Spink the previous day and had agreed it was best for him to spend the night at home.Dr Jones said Mr Spink had "significant problems" involving his mental health, but she had been shocked to hear of his suicide.A post mortem examination by consultant pathologist Dr Sheila Purdy confirmed death had been due to a massive haemorrhage due to a deep knife wound.Dr Dean said: "Clearly efforts were made to try to assist Brian Spink and the tragic outcome of that night could not have been foreseen at that time, but it is clear from the nature of his actions this was not a gesture or cry for help given the extent of what he inflicted on himself.
"In March last year, Joshua Christopher Tilmouth, 20, handcuffed and tied up Timothy Harkness, 36, then sliced his neck and stabbed him repeatedly.The incident happened at Tennyson in Adelaide.The South Australian Supreme Court heard Tilmouth was a scholarship student from Alice Springs and met Mr Harkness during a youth camp then started a relationship in 2011.The court was told the pair organised a bondage and sexual fantasy session on the night of the attack and planned to use gags and blindfolds.The men had purchased items from a sex shop and Tilmouth had bought a knife in the weeks before the attack.In sentencing submissions, Tilmouth argued he was driven to the attack after learning he unknowingly had engaged in repeated sexual activity with the victim while he was asleep or too drunk to remember.He said he only became aware of the sexual activity after Mr Harkness sent him graphic text and Facebook messages.Justice Michael David rejected that notion, saying it was inconsistent with the evidence before him and it defied commonsense."This is a most sad and disturbing case," he said."How could a young, high-achieving, well-educated young man from a supportive family act in such a way?