Ex-soldier found guilty of stabbing neighbours to death after row over parking

A former soldier, Collin Reeves, has been found guilty of stabbing his neighbours to death following a dispute over parking on their estate in Somerset, UK.

The 35-year-old Afghanistan veteran killed his neighbours, Jennifer Chapple, 33, and her 36-year-old teacher husband Stephen Chapple, at their house in Norton Fitzwarren, Somerset. He stabbed both of them six times.

The couple's children were fast asleep in their bedrooms upstairs when Reeves killed their parents. However, he did not harm the children. They were still asleep when the police arrived at the crime scene.

Reeves admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, stating that he was suffering from an abnormality of mental functioning, but denied murder.

The Bristol Crown Court heard that Reeves and his family used to live next door to the Chapples and they had fought over parking space earlier, per a report in The Independent.

During one such heated exchange, he had called Jennifer Chapple a "f***ing c***" and a "fat b****". Things went out of control on November 21 last year when he took out a ceremonial dagger given to him to stab the couple.

The dagger was given to him when he left the army in 2017. He had served with the Royal Engineers and had completed the gruelling commando training before leaving the army.

Reeves was caught on camera climbing the fence separating their houses and entering the Chapples' house from the back door. A few second later Jennifer was heard screaming, with Reeves saying: "Die, you f***ers, die."

He himself called the police later and told the operator "he had stabbed his neighbours." Reeves later claimed that he had little memory of the incident. He claims that he does not remember killing the couple. He added that he also does not remember taking the dagger out of the frame where it was displayed in his house.

"Reeves sought to avoid responsibility for murder by claiming his actions were the result of PTSD linked to his previous army service," said Joana Clark, senior crown prosecutor for CPS South West.

However, forensic psychiatrists have said that Reeves did not suffer from PTSD, but diagnosed him with moderate and mild depression. They believe that he could be suffering from "dissociative amnesia," a disorder characterized by retrospectively reported memory gaps. He has been convicted by the Bristol Crown Court and will be sentenced on Tuesday.