Man who murdered and dismembered lodger has sentence increased

A man who murdered and dismembered a lodger before leaving packages of body parts along the Bournemouth seafront has had his minimum prison term increased at the Court of Appeal. Benjamin Atkins, 49, was convicted of the murder of 49 year old Simon Shotton, whose legs were found by a member of the public in the Boscombe area of the Dorset seaside resort in August 2023.

Mr Shotton had been living in a tent in the garden of the flat Atkins shared with his girlfriend, 39 year old Debbie Pereira, in Aylesbury Road, Boscombe, giving the defendants drugs in lieu of paying rent. In July, a judge at Winchester Crown Court jailed Atkins for a minimum of 19 years and handed a four-year sentence to Pereira after she was acquitted of murder but convicted of perverting the course of justice.

However, following a reference from the Solicitor General under the unduly lenient sentencing scheme, both sentences were increased at a hearing on Tuesday. Atkins will now face a minimum term of 21 years, while Pereira’s sentence for perverting the course of justice was increased to six years.

Louise Oakley, for the Solicitor General, told the Court of Appeal that a fight broke out between Mr Shotton and Atkins on August 18 2023. During his trial, Atkins admitted to killing Mr Shotton at the couple’s home and dismembering his body but claimed he had acted out of self-defence.

Ms Oakley stated: "The learned (sentencing) judge concluded that the violence inflicted on Simon Shotton was ferocious and unnecessary."

The barrister conveyed to the court that Atkins had "systematically" dismembered Mr Shotton’s body "over a number of days", and also attempted to burn the lodger’s head in a fire pit within a back garden. She revealed: "Only tiny fragments were ever recovered. Atkins has never said what he did with the rest of his head."

It was noted that Mr Shotton’s torso was found in a suitcase in Boscombe Chine Gardens on 6 September.

Ms Oakley then emphasized that the severity of the murder was heightened by the fact that Mr Shotton was dismembered and his possessions were sold postmortem. She added: "Bearing in mind all of those matters, the increase of four years to the minimum term of 15 years was too little."

The Court of Appeal heard about an "extensive cleaning operation to get rid of all traces of blood from the property" executed by Atkins and his accomplice Pereira.

Although Pereira wasn't involved in the violent altercation, she failed to alert emergency services and served as a "decoy" during Atkins' purchase of a hacksaw, the judges were informed. Ms Oakley mentioned: "Over a two week period, Miss Pereira participated in the process... She allowed her property to be used and took active steps to help him."

Defending Atkins, Zafar Ali KC argued that the sentence passed was appropriate, pointing out that the judge who administered the sentencing "was best placed to fully understand the nuances of the case".

In the review of a murder case, Lord Justice Bean commended Mrs Justice Stacey, the High Court judge overseeing the six-week trial for her proactivity. Ignatius Hughes KC, representing Pereira, underscored that his client played a "so much secondary" role, stating: "It was Atkins who had committed the murder, it was Atkins who dismembered the body, it was Atkins who took parts of the body away from the flat and concealed them."

Upon evaluating the sentences as too lenient, Lord Justice Bean noted: "We are very conscious of the fact that the learned judge had heard all the evidence and great respect is to be accorded to the evaluation of the facts by the judge who has presided over the trial. Lord Justice Bean, sitting with Mr Justice Johnson and Mrs Justice Heather Williams, continued: " Alongside Mr Justice Johnson and Mrs Justice Heather Williams, he stated: "Even if Atkins’ criminality had been limited to the killing itself and the subsequent acts had not taken place, the case would have required a minimum term well in excess of 15 years," adding "But of course, Atkins’ criminality was not so limited."