Man receives life sentence for killing his childhood abuser

On Wednesday, October 14, Plymouth Crown Court found Lewis Finch guilty of the murder of Geoffrey Pearce in Newton Poppleford, East Devon. The convicted man reportedly battered and strangled his victim in the older man's caravan on January 9. He then tried to cover up the murder by setting the caravan on fire. After a slew of lies, the man admitted to manslaughter in court but denied murder. He told the court that the victim had abused him as a child and his actions were due to the trauma caused by the victim. The murderer has been sentenced to life in prison.

Finch, first battered his victim with a hammer or pick-axe. After the assault, he stopped to call his sister. His sister reportedly heard the scrap dealer begging for his life while the siblings were talking. The assailant told his sister that the 47-year-old man was not dead yet but would soon be.

Once he was done talking to his sibling, he proceeded to strangle Pearce. Finch used a plastic cable tie. He put it around the older man's neck and tightened it till he died of asphyxiation. When the victim became unresponsive, the 31-year-old man tried to cover up the murder.

He set the caravan ablaze and fled from the scene.

Police eventually questioned Finch as a suspect. He initially lied to the police until he finally admitted to causing the death of Pearce. According to BBC, the murderer told the police: "I've done you a favour, I've killed a paedophile."

During the hearing, Plymouth Crown Court heard that Pearce regularly sexually abused his murderer since he was 11 or 12 years old. When he was faced with his childhood abuser, Finch claims he lost control and started to exact his revenge.

Defending the convict, Adam Vaitalingam told the court that Finch had a history of mental illness and substance abuse. While the court found the abuse allegations credible, Finch was still sentenced to life for the brutal murder. He has to serve a minimum 22-year prison term before he is eligible for parole.