Head at Welsh primary school jailed for assault on deputy over ‘sexual jealously'
A headteacher who was caught on video attacking his deputy with a large adjustable spanner, in an assault motivated by 'overwhelming sexual jealously', has been jailed for more than two years.
Anthony John Felton, 54, concealed the wrench in his jacket pocket as he approached his colleague, Richard Pyke, 51, from behind. Video of the incident showed him taking out the heavy tool and then repeatedly swinging it at Pyke's head.
Pyke fell to the floor and attempted to kick away Felton before colleagues at St Joseph's Roman Catholic comprehensive school in Aberavon, south Wales, heard the disturbance and came to his aid.
When graphic CCTV footage of the incident was played to Swansea crown court there were gasps in the public gallery at the ferocity of the attack.
Ieuan Rees, for the prosecution, said Felton believed Pyke had slept with another teacher with whom he had recently been in a relationship.
'The evidence of his wife and the admissions he made to her suggested Mr Felton had been in a relationship with another member of staff and had recently discovered he was the father of her child,' he said.
'Furthermore, he believed that Mr Pyke had now begun his own relationship with that lady.'
After the attack, Felton fled the school in his car and then emailed staff to apologise 'for the problems and distress his actions were likely to cause', the court heard.
Felton, who had been headteacher since September 2023, pleaded guilty to attempted grievous bodily harm with intent, at a hearing earlier this month.
In a victim impact statement address to Felton, Pyke said: 'You had my complete trust in every way and you used that to manoeuvre me into a position of utter vulnerability. And then you attacked me from behind.'
He added: 'The fear that you could attempt to do me such harm, smiling at me just seconds before, will always be with me.'
On Friday, Judge Paul Thomas sentenced Felton to two years and four months in jail and issued an indefinite restraining order.
The judge said the 'ambush' by a headteacher on their deputy was: 'I suspect, entirely without precedent'.
He added: 'You are more than intelligent enough to realise when you plotted this bizarre attack that the impact and ramifications would be immense and far-reaching.
'Ultimately, the trigger for your act of extreme violence was of your own doing, the overwhelming sexual jealousy arising from an adulterous affair and the uncontrollable rage it created in you.'
John Hipkin KC, speaking for the defence, said Felton had recently suffered due to the death of his mother and a cancer diagnosis.
After the attack, police said Pyke had been discharged from hospital after suffering minor injuries.
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North Wales Live
19-05-2025
- North Wales Live
She murdered the man she claimed to love before telling lie after lie
The family of a "gentle giant" who was stabbed to death have spoken of their devastation after his killer was jailed for life. Joanna Wronska, 51, stabbed her partner Marcin Koziol to death in a drunken "explosion" of anger on October 24, 2024. Today [Monday] she was jailed for life, and will have to serve a minimum term of 15 years and 137 days imprisonment for the brutal killing in their flat in Pentre Gwyn, Wrexham. Mold Crown Court heard both had been drinking when she had fetched a kitchen knife and plunged it into Mr Koziol's chest. She then somewhat "came to her senses" by washing the weapon in a sink and ringing 999. She then had the gall to blamed Mr Koziol for inflicting the fatal wound on himself. You can sign up for all the latest court stories here But the jury last month rejected that account - which a judge today branded "distasteful" - and found her unanimously guilty of murdering the 40-year-old. In a statement at the sentencing hearing today, Mr Koziol's sister Anna Zawada, who lives in Poland, spoke about her brother. She said he was 18 years younger than her and she treated him like a son. He had been a 'cheerful, sensitive, empathetic and loving child'. As he grew up he would always remember birthdays and buy gifts. After leaving school in Poland it hadn't been easy to find work so he moved to the UK in 2004. He got a job and worked hard and diligently, sending back money to their mum in Poland. He was over six foot tall and 'my little brother was not so little anymore," she said. After his murder in October 2023 she realised there would be no more hugs. Anna said Christmas 2023 was the worst. Her devoutly Roman Catholic family sat in silence at the table during what should have been festive celebrations. Marcin's funeral was in the UK but Anna had his name engraved on the gravestone of the middle brother in Poland, which she visits every week. Anna herself developed depression, high blood pressure and insomnia after Marcin's death Also today Marcin's widow Marta, who kept in touch with Marcin during his relationship with Joanna Wronska, read her own statement about the effects of the murder. She said she had been "distraught" and "devastated" to learn in a phone call her husband had died. She posted "Rest in peace" on his Facebook page as "I did not know what (else) to do". As a spouse she was allowed to go to see his body but not to touch it. It was a "horrible, surreal experience," she said. As his widow, she could access his bank account to help arrange his funeral which she never expected to do. Marta had had to bury her baby six months earlier. She had kept in contact with Marcin and found the court case stressful. "He was truly a gentle giant and would never hurt anyone. I can't understand why Marcin has been taken away from me." The judge His Honour Rhys Rowlands told Wronska the murder involved an "explosive, drunken loss of temper on your part in which you stabbed the victim through the chest with a kitchen knife". He added: "Thereafter you washed the knife and having to some extent come to your senses, no doubt regretting what you had just done, you rang the emergency services and remained at the flat until they arrived." But he said she has a drink problem and "can become aggressive and difficult in drink". Earlier, defence counsel Andrew Ford KC said the relationship between Wronska and Mr Koziol "could be good and was often good". Earlier in the case, the court had heard about the killer's earlier life. Wronska, a diminutive and slight figure with dark, shoulder length hair in the dock, already had two (now adult) children when she met a previous partner Januse Zdunek in Pajezcno in central Poland. Wronska and Mr Dzunek travelled some 1,120 miles (1,800km) from Central Poland to live in Wrexham in 2013. There they had two children together, who were later taken into care by social services. But Wronska, who was ten years his senior, became dependent on alcohol and took drugs. She alleged Mr Zdunek was abusive. Their children, now aged ten and eight, were placed in foster care and they split in 2021, the court heard. Tellingly, Mr Zdunek said in a statement that Wronska threatened to kill him with a knife several times. The prosecution described how he said he suddenly felt a sharp pain between his shoulder blades in one incident in July 2021. When Mr Zdunek turned he says he saw Wronska holding a knife. He claimed she said "You're lucky I didn't stab you in the heart". The jury had to decide if this claim was true and whether she stabbed her subsequent partner too, said the prosecution. The court was told during the trial that Marcin Koziol was born in Zabrza in Poland and had been living in the UK since 1982, initially on Merseyside. He was married to Marta Koziol but they had separated some years before. Mr Koziol had had a serious accident in the 2000s. He was crushed by a bale of waste at a recycling plant. He sustained multiple fractures and had surgery. He had spent all his compensation by 2018 on travel, clothes and alcohol. By 2019 Mr Koziol settled in Wrexham. He had mental health issues and was temporarily homeless. He met Wronska in 2022. In September that year he moved into her flat in Pentre Gwyn on Abenbury Road. Mold Crown Court heard their relationship descended into drinking and shoplifting and both were barred from their local convenience store. One night in October 2023 Wronska, who was drunk, lost her temper and stabbed her partner, who weighed almost 18 stone. On the day of the verdict on April 14 Judge Rowlands said: "You have been found guilty by a jury of the offence of murder in which you took away a man's life cruelly and entirely unnecessarily." He added: "I have no doubt that drink is at the root of your problems and it was in a drunken temper that you took a knife to the deceased that evening." After the verdict, the defendant said from the dock: "I'm going to kill myself." She then leaned forward saying she wanted to speak to her solicitor but the judge said she could do that after being taken down to the cells. Speaking following sentencing today, Detective Chief Inspector Eleri Thomas said: 'Joanna Wronska senselessly and needlessly ended Marcin Koziol's life – her partner who she claimed she loved deeply. 'It was a cruel and violent attack on a man who had sought support from her. Wronska then went to great lengths to conceal her crime and deceive the police by claiming Marcin had killed himself, causing untold trauma to his family, some of whom had to endure the ordeal of giving evidence, and then forced to listen to her lies throughout the trial. 'The thorough and diligent work carried out by the investigation team helped the jury see through her lies and secure justice for Marcin's loved ones. I would thank everyone who came forward to assist with the investigation, including the first responders who tried to save his life. 'We will never know what drove Wronska to end Marcin's life, but I hope her conviction and today's result brings some small measure of respite to his family.'
The Courier
16-05-2025
- The Courier
Roseangle murders occupy bleak and bloody place in history of Dundee crime
What started as a random break-in one sunny afternoon in Dundee rapidly escalated into multiple killings on both sides of the border. The perpetrator, a small-time crook, became the most wanted man in Britain. Retired doctor Alexander Wood, 79, and his wife Dorothy, 78, were hacked and beaten to death with a slater's hammer at their home in Roseangle on May 18 1980. The gruesome slayings transformed an ordinary home into a murder house. And No. 2 Roseangle is still empty. The bodies were discovered by medical students Thomas McKee, Rod McKay, Derek Gourlay and Matt Wilson. The students were on their way to Riverside Park for a game of football when the ball went over the railings and into the garden. McKee went to get the ball. He spotted the bodies through the basement window. The savagery of the attack shocked even hardened detectives. Dr Wood, who had an artificial leg, had just left hospital a few days earlier. The killer also took jewellery and a carriage clock in the couple's leather suitcase. The Roseangle killings remain vividly in the memory of Alexander McGregor. The former Courier chief reporter covered the case. He went on to write in detail about it in his best-selling book The Law Killers. 'Had it not been for a local detective 'joining up the dots' to identify who the killer was, even more people would likely have died in the trail of slaughter,' he said. 'Detective Inspector Willie Hart had spotted the fact that a minor listing in the Police Gazette named a 29-year-old Dundee man named Henry John Gallagher as having failed to return to Maidstone Prison from a home leave. 'The detective recalled one of Gallagher's previous crimes was an attack on a Dundee minister in his Dundee manse and he began to suspect that Gallagher may have returned to Dundee and found his way to Roseangle.' Gallagher had assaulted a minister in Dundee in 1972. He attacked a priest a year later in Stockton, almost killing him. During a break-in in 1979, he found the householders' pet dog and cut its throat. Gallagher had a long record of burglary and assault. He had gone back home to Dundee on weekend leave from Maidstone Prison where he was serving a three-year sentence imposed in December 1978. Although Dr Wood wasn't a minister, his house was directly opposite the church, and could have been mistaken for the manse. A Roman Catholic bishop also lived further down Roseangle. Gallagher had earlier tried to gain entry there but had been refused. He fled to the south coast of England after beating Dr and Mrs Wood to death. He sold the jewellery he had stolen from Roseangle and attempted to get an identity card in a false name in order to leave the country and travel to France. Gallagher committed another double-murder in Kent, this time targeting Father Edward Hull, 88, and his defenceless housekeeper, Maude Lelean, 73. The gruesome murder scene was described as resembling an 'abattoir'. Gallagher was captured seven days later after raising suspicions when he called at a vicarage in York and asked the vicar's wife if he could wash the car. He also asked to be directed to a Roman Catholic church. She recognised him from a photo on TV and phoned the police. Alexander said one rare feature of the Roseangle case is that Gallagher has never stood trial in a Scottish court for the killings. 'Detective Chief Superintendent Jim Cameron, who headed the Dundee inquiry, went south and secured a confession from Gallagher, but it never came to a court appearance here,' he said. 'After his arrest in England for the double killing there, he pleaded guilty in December 1980 and was ordered to be detained without limit of time in Broadmoor. 'The Lord Advocate in Scotland ruled that in light of that disposal, no further action would be taken on this side of the border.' Peter Timms, who had allowed home leave for Gallagher, which triggered the four killings, resigned as governor of Maidstone prison in 1981. Ironically, given Gallagher's obsession with the clergy, Timms became a minister. He was unrepentant about his decision when asked in 1989. 'The prisoner's sister had made contact with him after a large number of years and there was a real possibility of him being reunited with his family,' he said. 'It was my decision to grant him home leave. 'He did not return and sadly the offences were committed. 'Given the same facts at the time, I would make the same decision today.' Timms was no stranger to controversy. He later became a regular visitor and supporter of Moors murderer Myra Hindley. 'Bizarrely, after being incarcerated in Broadmoor, Gallagher was somehow permitted, or able, to write an account of his savage attack on Dr and Mrs Woods in Dundee, which was included in a book about killings by others,' said Alexander. 'I came across his story while researching for The Law Killers and it gave me a rare opportunity to describe in detail the actual actions and thoughts of a killer while he committed his crime. 'In some ways, it is probably not so unexpected that Gallagher wanted to write about his abhorrent activities. 'His whole adult life seems to have been punctuated by him committing some kind of despicable act then wanting to confess to it, usually to a minister or priest. 'That then triggered ferocious violence against those he was unburdening himself to. 'In his own words, it was like a switch being flicked – he went from apologetic confessor to unrestrained attacker, using whatever weapon came to hand.' Gallagher said he didn't want to hurt Dr and Mrs Wood. He said Mrs Wood caught him in the basement and was going to call the police. Gallagher claimed he was then struck by Mr Wood's walking stick and 'went crazy'. 'I hit both of them with anything and everything I could lay my hands on, screaming and shouting at the top of my voice,' he bleated. Alexander believes Gallagher may be the city's most prolific known killer. 'Even the notorious Mones didn't individually kill four people – son Robert claimed two, and father 'Sonny' three,' he said. 'I can't think of anyone locally who has matched or exceeded Gallagher's total. 'That alone elevates Gallagher to a special, if undesirable place, in the city's history. 'As far as I am aware, he is still detained in Broadmoor. 'Since he is a patient and not a prisoner, the authorities refuse to give updates on his detention. 'Sadly, a constant reminder of what occurred is the imposing house which stands empty and decaying on a prominent city centre site – a bleak monument to the awful events that took place there 45 years ago.' ALL IMAGES IN THIS ARTICLE ARE COPYRIGHT OF DC THOMSON AND HAVE BEEN COLOURED USING ADVANCED AI. COLOUR REPRODUCTION MAY NOT BE 100% AUTHENTIC. UNAUTHORISED REPRODUCTION IS NOT PERMITTED.
NBC News
29-04-2025
- NBC News
Researchers secretly infiltrated a popular Reddit forum with AI bots, causing outrage
In recent months, a group of researchers conducted a secret experiment on Reddit to see how artificial intelligence can be used to influence human opinion. Now, Reddit says it is considering legal action. Researchers from the University of Zurich deployed a slew of AI bots posing as real people and engaging with users without their knowledge or consent to try to change minds on the popular Reddit forum r/changemyview, where posts often ask users to challenge their views on contentious topics. The bots, whose accounts are now banned, left more than 1,000 comments throughout the subreddit, taking on identities such as a rape victim, a Black man who opposes the Black Lives Matter movement and a trauma counselor who specializes in abuse. One AI bot, under the username u/catbaLoom213, left a lengthy comment arguing against the opinion that AI should never interact with humans on social media, according to a full copy of the bots' comments compiled by the subreddit's moderators. 'AI in social spaces isn't just about impersonation — it's about augmenting human connection,' the bot wrote while impersonating a real user. Another bot, u/genevievestrome, criticized the Black Lives Matter movement for being led by 'NOT black people.' 'I say this as a Black Man, there are few better topics for a victim game / deflection game than being a black person,' the bot wrote. Other bots gave themselves identities ranging from 'a Roman Catholic who is gay' and a nonbinary person who feels 'both trans and cis at the same time' to a Hispanic man who feels frustration 'when people call me a white boy.' While the results of the experiment are unclear, the project is the latest incident to fuel fears about the ability of AI to mimic humans online, adding to already prevalent concerns about the potential consequences of interacting with AI companions. Such bots, which have permeated social platforms like Instagram, are known to take on unique humanlike identities and personalities. On Monday, Reddit's chief legal officer, Ben Lee, wrote in a post that neither Reddit nor the r/changemyview mods knew about 'this improper and highly unethical experiment' ahead of time. He added that Reddit was in the process of sending formal legal demands to the University of Zurich and the research team. 'What this University of Zurich team did is deeply wrong on both a moral and legal level,' Lee wrote. 'It violates academic research and human rights norms, and is prohibited by Reddit's user agreement and rules, in addition to the subreddit rules.' A spokesperson for Reddit declined to share additional comment. In an announcement to the community over the weekend, moderators of r/changemyview wrote that they filed an ethics complaint asking the university to advise against publishing the researchers' findings, to conduct an internal review of the study's approval and to commit to stronger oversight of such projects. 'Allowing publication would dramatically encourage further intrusion by researchers, contributing to increased community vulnerability to future non-consensual human subjects experimentation,' they wrote. Melanie Nyfeler, a media relations officer, wrote in an email that relevant authorities at the university are aware of and will investigate the incident. 'In light of these events, the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences intends to adopt a stricter review process in the future and, in particular, to coordinate with the communities on the platforms prior to experimental studies,' Nyfeler wrote. She confirmed that the researchers have decided 'on their own accord' not to publish the results. For privacy reasons, she added, the university cannot disclose their identities. Nyfeler said that because the study was considered 'exceptionally challenging,' the ethics committee advised the researchers to inform the participants 'as much as possible' and to fully comply with Reddit's rules. But the recommendations are not legally binding, she wrote, and the researchers are responsible for their project. Reached at an email address they set up for the experiment, the researchers directed all inquiries to the university. The researchers, who answered questions from the community via their Reddit account, u/LLMResearchTeam, said online that the AI bots personalized their responses by using a separate model to collect demographic information about users — such as their ages, genders, ethnicities, locations and political orientations — based on their post histories. Still, they wrote that their AI models included 'heavy ethical safeguards and safety alignment' and that they explicitly prompted the models to avoid 'deception and lying about true events.' A researcher also reviewed each AI-generated comment before it was posted, they wrote. In response to the mods' concerns, the researchers further said, 'A careful review of the content of these flagged comments revealed no instances of harmful, deceptive, or exploitative messaging, other than the potential ethical issue of impersonation itself.' In their post, the r/changemyview mods rejected the researchers' claim that their experiment 'yields important insights.' They also wrote that such research 'demonstrates nothing new' that other, less intrusive studies have not already shared. 'Our sub is a decidedly human space that rejects undisclosed AI as a core value,' they wrote. 'People do not come here to discuss their views with AI or to be experimented upon. People who visit our sub deserve a space free from this type of intrusion.'
