The Black Vault - Two guilty of witch murder

TWO men who brutally bludgeoned a witchcraft enthusiast to death on a lonely hillside were jailed for life yesterday.

Daniel Antonious Del-ker (24) and his co-accused, David Terance Sandham (24), were found guilty of murdering 44-year-old James Bow-man in Cornholme, Todmorden, following a two week trial at Leeds Crown Court.

Sandham was already a convicted killer. He was jailed for five years for manslaughter in March 1997 after stabbing his own brother during a row over the washing up.

Detectives involved in the murder investigation today branded the killers callous and said they had showed no remorse for the savage attack.

Detective Supt Allan Doherty said after the sentencing: "Mr Bowman suffered 88 separate injuries during what was a prolonged and sustained assault.

"He looked like he had suffered a very brutal attack but the sheer number of injuries is what was most shocking - it is nothing short of gratuitous.

"Delker and Sandham have denied the offence from the outset. They have never showed any remorse whatsoever and have tried to make their defence fit round the evidence given in court - one can only describe their actions as callous."

Delker, of Shackleton Road, Kirkham, Preston and Sandham, of The Croft, Cleveleys, Blackpool, murdered Mr Bowman on September 15 last year after he had been spurned by Delker's mother, Melanie Payne.

Mr Bowman, who was a Wiccan follower, had allegedly left wild flowers associated with witchcraft on a wall outside of Mrs Payne's home in Ernest Street, Cornholme and had made telephone calls to her after being asked to desist.

Delker and Sandham were called in to protect Mrs Payne, who believed in witchcraft and was afraid that Mr Bowman, who called himself a Wiccan priest, might return.

Mr Bowman died within two hours of the attack last September next to a campfire on a hillside in which he suffered horrific head injuries and stab wounds - two of which punctured his lungs.

Detective Supt Doherty said: "It is a sad case for all parties concerned. This incident could have been settled so easily if Mrs Payne or her sons were worried about repercussions.

"We have a domestic violence officer - it could have all been dealt with so simply but by going outside of the law and taking the law into their own hands, they have caused the death of a man needlessly and gone to prison for a very long time."

http://www.halifaxtoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=700&ArticleID=518331