A maths graduate who murdered his father before dismembering him and placing his body parts in plastic storage boxes to use as a television stand was jailed for life today.
Nathan Robinson, 27, was told he would serve a minimum of 30 years for killing his 48-year-old father William Spiller at the flat they shared in Bournemouth, Dorset in May 2013.
Robinson had carefully cut up his father's corpse with a Stanley knife, a hacksaw and a saw,before placing the parts in boxes in the victim's bedroom with a television placed on top. His head was was placed in a box and put in a filing cabinet.
Jailed: Nathan Robinson, 27, (left) will serve a minimum of 30 years for killing his 48-year-old father William Spiller (right) at the flat they shared in Bournemouth, Dorset in May 2013 and cutting up his body
The University of Aberystwyth graduate had stolen his father's phone and thousands of pounds in cash before travelling to Glasgow, Birmingham and Bristol to visit friends and relatives the day after the murder, police said.
While he was in Scotland he gave one of his friends a boxset of the Saw horror films, Winchester Crown Court was told.
Robinson had denied murder but admitted manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility, but last month it took the jury just 90 minutes to find him guilty of murder.
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Share 11 sharesThe court heard how Robinson killed his father for ‘financial gain’ and wanted to ‘help himself’ to £10,000 of his father’s money.
Robinson claimed that he only had limited memories of the killing and that he had been abused as a child by his father and by another man on a separate occasion, the trial heard.
He also said his mother, Elaine Robinson, worked as a prostitute and he had found an advertisement which she used to offer her services.
But Nigel Lickley QC, prosecuting, said Robinson murdered Mr Spiller over 'money disputes' and owed him a figure in the region of £36,000.
He said: 'The defendant was convicted of his father’s murder.
Caught on camera: CCTV shows Nathan Robinson at Bournemouth railway station on the day after he murdered his father and put his dismembered body into storage boxes he was using as a TV stand
'Police attended the flat and noted strong smells and flies, alive and dead, in the hallway leading up to the property.
'They entered and found Mr Spiller within the bedroom area, his body had been dismembered deliberately and carefully and placed in plastic storage boxes together with items of clothing.
'Mr Spiller’s head had been removed, cut off, and was found within another box within a filing cabinet in the bedroom.
'There was a significant degree of planning and premeditation as he dismembered the body.
'He used different tools including a small saw for different parts of the body and he used the heavier saw for other parts of the body including the spine.
'He then lied to cover his tracks and when he talked to his neighbour David Kiff he said his father was going away with his girlfriend.'
Before leaving the flat, Robinson set about cleaning up his crime scene.
He went out and bought a floor and steam cleaner from Homebase but ended up flooding the bathroom and pink droplets began to soak the walls of the flat below belonging to neighbour Mr Kiff, 67, the court heard.
Journey: The day after the killing, Robinson travelled from Bournemouth to Glasgow for a weekend with friends, taking with him a box set of the Saw films
In the following month, he then covered his tracks by using his father’s mobile phone, sending text messages posing as the 6ft 4in, 25-stone Mr Spiller.
The jury also heard that Robinson and his father had a history of disputes and that on the day of the murder, their downstairs neighbours had heard arguing, the sounds of a struggle and Mr Spiller asking his son to get him an ambulance.
Robinson, now of Kingswinford, West Midlands, was arrested on June 18 last year - a day after Mr Spiller’s girlfriend Glenys Molyneux reported her taxi driver partner was missing to police.
After his arrest at his mother's home in Birmingham he told police 'Is this a joke?'
Giving evidence during the trial, Robinson said he headed for Glasgow with the Saw boxset because 'he wanted to get rid of them'.
The films, which ran in cinemas from 2004 until 2010, are the fifth-highest earning horror franchise of all time.
I can remember a great deal of anger and also being scared at one point. It was the most angry I have ever been Nathan RobinsonStruggling to recall in specific detail what he had done, Robinson said: 'I had an image of attacking him with a Stanley knife.
'I can remember a great deal of anger and also being scared at one point. It was the most angry I have ever been.
'I remember being in the shower and I was washing blood off me and whilst I’m showering I’m calling my dad a dirty c-*-*-*.'
By the time police discovered Mr Spiller's body it was so decomposed that he had to be identified by dental records.
Michael Vere-Hodge QC, defending, said this was a ‘rare’ case and the fatal incident was a ‘very sudden event’.
He told the court: 'It is very rare for someone to kill their own father.
'We suggest the facts of the case point to a very sudden event where there was a complete lack of self control for whatever reason.
'This particular case falls into a very unusual category as there appears to be no attempt to dispose of the body parts.
'He is a very socially active and is a high achiever from perhaps not the most promising background.
Sentencing: Judge Mr Justice Griffith Williams told Winchester Crown Court that the murder as an 'act of wickedness' and said Robinson was a 'deceitful' and 'manipulative young man'
'This was a matter in a domestic setting where the pair were sharing the accommodation and there was sudden explosion of violence.
'We argue there was no motive whatsoever.'
Judge Mr Justice Griffith Williams described the murder as an ‘act of wickedness’ and said Robinson was a ‘deceitful’ and ‘manipulative young man’.
He said: 'I have no doubt you are a thoroughly deceitful, scheming and manipulative young man.
'I have no doubt you planned to kill your father and planned an elaborate cover up.
'The prosecution case, which I accept, is that the explanation for your decision to kill your father was a quarrel about the money you owed him.
'There was evidence of an IOU for £36,000 dated June 5, 2011.
'The absence of defence injuries proves you must have very quickly overpowered him and disabled him - more likely by cutting his throat.
'You then cut him elsewhere on his head and about his body ignoring his pleas for an ambulance and the help which would have saved his life.
'As you acknowledged when cross-examined, you watched him die.'
Robinson was found guilty of murder after a jury of five women and seven men took just 90 minutes to reach a verdict.
The absence of defence injuries proves you must have very quickly overpowered him and disabled him - more likely by cutting his throat Mr Justice Griffith WilliamsMr Justice Williams told Robinson that he had 'shown no remorse whatsoever'.
He continued: 'This was a cold-blooded murder but I cannot be sure the killing involved sadistic conduct.
'What then followed was a very carefully thought out and executed cover-up.
'After spending the night in the flat you left for Glasgow, taking some £10,000 of your father’s money with you.
'In Glasgow, and later in the Midlands and elsewhere, you spent his money and behaved as if nothing had happened.
'You have shown no remorse whatsoever.
'I am satisfied the seriousness of your offending was particularly high and that your motive was financial gain.
'By killing him, you could help yourself to the large amount of cash he kept in the flat.
'Indeed, as I observed earlier, this was a cold blooded, premeditated killing.
'A conclusion is that this was an act of wickedness.
'Balancing the limited mitigation with the aggravating factors I have identified, I sentence you to Life Imprisonment with a minimum term of 30 years.'
Following today’s sentencing, Ms Molyneaux said the past 18 months had been 'extremely traumatic from first receiving the dreadful news of Will’s death until the trial which revealed the full horror of what happened that day'.
She continued: 'Will was a loving, caring man with a hilarious sense of fun and humour.
'No sentence can bring him back but we are satisfied that the verdict of guilty was the appropriate one for this heinous crime.
'As a family we would like to thank people for their love and support during this dreadful time.'
Dorset Police said Robinson had gone to 'great lengths' to try and mislead officers and Ms Molyneaux.
Senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector John Gately, said: 'This was a particularly gruesome murder.
'What is clear from the evidence is that Nathan Robinson went to great lengths to try and mislead the police and the victim’s partner.
'My thoughts go out to Mr Spiller’s family and friends.
'I would like to pay tribute to the investigation team, in particular the case officer Dave Richards and the forensic team who had to deal with a horrific crime scene.'
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