Sick killer battered my brother to death with a hammer & set him on fire, but was STILL released from jail to kill again

Scottish Sun

16-07-2025

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A COLD chill ran through Melanie Huxley's veins as she saw the message pop up on her phone - and realised her prophecy had come true.
It said: "Brian Whitelock has been arrested for murder."
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Melanie Huxley with her brothers Nicky (left) and Ryan, before Nicky was murdered by Brian Whitelock in October 2000
Credit: collect
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Blood soaked Whitelock after he killed again. Melanie warned the Parole Board he would murder someone on his release from prison - she was proved tragically right
Credit: WNS
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Whitelock's neighbour, Wendy Buckney, was killed after taking pity on the murderer and employing him to do odd jobs around her house
Credit: WNS
The name triggered the most awful memories and immense anger, because Melanie knew another family would have to endure the trauma she and her loved ones had lived through.
Melanie, 53, from Swansea, says: 'When I heard he had murdered again, I wasn't surprised at all, just devastated.
'I could not believe that another sister would live the same nightmare as me, thanks to this evil man – and why the Probation Service had not taken our repeated warnings about him more seriously.'
Back in October 2000, Whitelock had murdered Melanie's brother Nicky Morgan, who was just 27 years old, in an unprovoked attack at Whitelock's home.
It had been a horrific death, with Nicky battered with a hammer and all of his teeth knocked out.
Whitelock - who had been drinking and taking diazepam - had then gone to a local garage, returning with a jerry can of petrol which he poured over Nicky and set alight.
Glen, Whitelock's own brother, had been upstairs in the house and as the inferno swept through the house, died of smoke inhalation.
Melanie says: "We weren't allowed to see Nicky because his body had been so badly burned, he was unrecognisable.
Nicky had to be identified by his patriotic tattoos - a Welsh Dragon and a daffodil.
Whitelock was arrested soon afterwards, and was convicted of Nicky's murder in July 2001, along with the manslaughter of his own brother Glen.
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He was jailed for life with a minimum term of 18 years, but never took any responsibility for his crimes.
Melanie adds: "The loss of Nicky had broken our mother, Gaynor.
"She'd already lost two husbands, one to kidney disease, aged just 27. Her second husband had fallen off a roof and been killed when my younger sister, Gemma, was just eight months old.
'Losing Nicky was just too much.
'Mum had brought four children up pretty much on her own – me and Nicky, as well as Ryan, now 49, and Gemma, now 40.
"We were such a close family, we just pulled together and got through each day one at a time.
"But every birthday, Christmas or celebration, we all felt the pain of Nicky not being with us."
'We warned them'
A new nightmare began for the family when double-killer Whitelock was freed on licence in January 2019, after an offender assessment review concluded that the likelihood of him committing another serious offence was low.
But in December 2020, his licence was revoked after he assaulted a shop worker and committed criminal damage. Whitelock was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison, to run concurrently with his life sentence.
Astonishingly, in less than a year, the Parole Board gave him another chance, releasing him on licence for a second time in October 2021.
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Nicky Morgan's brutal killing crushed his mum, Gaynor, who had been widowed twice at a young age
Credit: WNS
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Whitelock also killed his own brother, Glen, who died from smoke inhalation when he set Nicky's body on fire inside the house
Credit: WNS
Mum-of-four and gran-of-seven Melanie says: "I begged the Parole Board not to release him, but they didn't listen to me.
'He had already broken conditions when placed in an open prison, but was caught drinking, not to mention the earlier altercation with a shop security guard.
"My last words to the Parole Board were that I 100 per cent guarantee that he'll murder again and that we will be back here.
'Even his own nieces thought he was a danger. But how I wish we had been wrong.'
We felt completely helpless. We repeatedly warned the Probation Service, but they did nothing
Melanie Huxley
Melanie's concerned family were assured that Whitelock had to follow strict conditions, including drug testing, and there were restrictions on where he could travel to.
She says: "It wasn't long before we found out that he had been travelling to areas he was banned from and buying drugs.
"He was seen roaming around our estate, intoxicated."
When her family informed the Probation Service, they were told to call 999 if approached by Whitelock.
She tells The Sun: "We felt completely helpless and totally disregarded. We repeatedly warned the Probation Service he was breaking all his conditions of bail, but they did nothing."
Haunting words
Then, on 23 August 2022, Melanie's worst fears became reality.
Whitelock did kill again, butchering a kind and defenceless pensioner, Wendy Buckney, 71, who he'd moved opposite following his release from prison.
The retired horse-riding instructor would employ him to do odd jobs in her house in Clydach, Swansea.
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Whitelock was found outside Wendy's house, covered in blood and wearing only his pants, after the brutal attack
Credit: WNS
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Whitelock has been deemed "low risk" by the Parole Board before his release in January 2019
Credit: WNS
When her sister, who knew Whitelock had been in prison but not what for, questioned whether it was sensible, Wendy told her that 'everyone deserves a second chance'.
Whitelock, now 57, went on trial at Swansea Crown Court in November 2024 and Melanie's family attended.
The details were harrowing, with Whitelock sexually assaulting Wendy and torturing her to death.
He used a knife, a table leg and an MDF shelf in his sickening attack, beating and stabbing her.
A postmortem examination found Wendy, who suffered from mobility issues in later life, had too many injuries for pathologists to count accurately and was covered in blood from head to toe.
Flesh from her body was found on the walls and ceiling after the horror attack, while parts of the shelf were embedded in her shins.
A 999 call from another neighbour to the scene reported that Whitelock was just in his pants and 'covered' in blood, adding: 'He said he's killed her.'
Whitelock initially admitted he had not just murdered his victim but tortured her with various objects.
On his arrest, which was caught on camera, he told police: 'It looks like I f**ing tortured her, I literally have. She was begging me to stop.'
But in the days afterwards, he changed his story and said he'd found Wendy injured and gone to help her, claiming to have seen 'shadowy figures' outside her flat.
Whitelock represented himself during the trial, admitting manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, but denying murder.
He told jurors he had no memory of the incident and was suffering from a brain injury at the time after he had slipped over while out fishing.
The jury also heard that Whitelock may have been taking up to 30 street diazepam tablets and drinking a crate of lager a day, as well as smoking cannabis at the time of the murder.
Neighbours had even called the police and ambulance services in the days prior due to his intoxicated state.
Melanie says: "We ached for Wendy's family. Watching them go through what we had 24 years earlier."
Back behind bars
The jury at Swansea Crown Court saw through Whitelock's lies and took just six minutes to find him guilty of murder.
After the verdict, they learned that he had killed before - not a fact they had been privy to.
Det Chief Insp Matthew Davies, who led the investigation, described Whitelock as a 'monster' and said that the crime scene was one of the worst he had ever seen.
Sentencing Whitelock in December 2024, Judge Mr Justice Griffiths called the murder a "frenzy of violence" and that he had known that his drug-taking sent him into rages, yet he had refused prescription alternatives offered.
He said: "[Wendy] knew what you were doing to her. Her injuries included injuries to her hands while she tried to defend herself, but of course she was no match for you."
"You described her as like a second mother to you. She deserved nothing but gratitude, but you brutally murdered her anyway, and you have never, ever suggested a motive."
He also told Whitelock that Wendy, who had 16 devoted nieces and nephews, as well as two stepsons she remained close to after her divorce, had "a heart of gold - a person who would give you her last penny".
In a victim impact statement, Wendy's sister Ann wrote: "He has not just taken one life. He has taken ours too."
She also revealed that the scale of Wendy's injuries meant they were not able to visit the mortuary to say goodbye, just as Melanie's family had not.
Applause broke out in the courtroom when a whole life sentence was handed down – the same as Lucy Letby, Mark Bridger and Wayne Couzens.
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Melanie believes Wendy would still be alive today if the Parole Board had heeded her warning - and the Probation Service acted on breaches of licence
Credit: Collect
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Melanie and her family at her beloved late brother Nicky's grave on what would have been his 50th birthday
Credit: Collect
But it's little comfort to Melanie, who says: "Wendy should still be alive. We warned them time and time again, and they didn't listen to us.
'Somebody should be held accountable. If Whitlock had been put back in prison for breaching his conditions, Wendy would be alive. It's truly unforgivable."
The Parole Board said its review of the case had been completed and would not be published, but that it took such cases "extremely seriously" and was "committed to learning lessons".
The Ministry of Justice, which runs the Probation Service, said a "serious further offence" review was underway, the findings of which will be shared with Wendy's family.
A spokesperson added: "This was an appalling crime and our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Wendy Buckney."