True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

                                                            (Ian Watkins: Picture credits: BBC & Rock Revolt) 

I've written so many True Crime stories now that I've actually lost count and in each one I have tried my best to share the details in as much of a sensitive way as I could, however, this case right here was always going to be a difficult one to talk about. I'd been putting it off for a while despite the requests because I had researched the case before and read the court documents and what I read in those pages haunts me to this day. 

So the day has finally come that I have decided to write about it and most of you from the UK are probably already familiar with this story and some of the sickening details but for those who do not know, I'm hoping you will stick around, grit your teeth and get through it with me. I have to warn you that this post will contain some very disturbing details.

Before I begin, just a reminder that you can find all of my links here 

Ian Watkins is a name that may be familiar to a lot of rock fans in the UK and perhaps further afield especially the band name 'Lostprophets', Ian was the lead singer of that band which were formed in the late 1990s in Wales and went on to do well in the charts as well as scooping up a few awards along the way. For the band it seemed that the only way was up. They had thousands of adoring fans and the lead singer, Ian was considered a bit of a heartthrob. 

To the outside looking in, Ian (born Ian David Karslake Watkins on the 30th of July 1977 in Merthyr Tydfil in Wales) and the rest of the band members had it all. Ian was often pictured out on the town or at an awards ceremony with a beautiful girl on his arm, some of their devoted fans even had tattoos dedicated to them. They were rockstars, they had made it and were even making waves in the USA. The future couldn't have looked brighter for a bunch of young lads from Wales. 

But behind the sold out shows, the endless autograph signings, mountains of money and fan mail, lay a dark and twisted mind that belonged to Ian Watkins. Nobody saw it coming, they didn't see the red flags. Ian always made stupid jokes, sickening jokes, jokes that were too close to the bone at times but people would brush them off. Like in a lot of these rock bands, the more the band became popular, the worse Ian's ego became to the point where he thought he was invincible and could do and say whatever he wanted.

Ian had dark, sick fantasies that he kept hidden from the world, he had everything he wanted, women threw themselves at him, right left and center but it wasn't enough for him. His depravity knew no bounds, he wanted children, babies. It makes me sick to even write this but that's the truth of the situation. 

The rest of the band members, friends and family never knew about this demonic side of Ian's personality, he kept it well hidden and with the girlfriends and female fans always at his beck and call, nobody suspected anything sinister. 

As time went on and the band's popularity grew, the demon within Ian could not stay under wraps for much longer. Like a lot of paedophiles, they fantasise about children and use sick materials to fantasise but eventually they crave the real thing and Ian couldn't control himself. He was a master manipulator who would seduce starstruck female fans in an attempt to get to their children. Some women were reportedly so obsessed with him that they gave into his demands. Two of his fans helped him create indecent images and not just involving children but animals, Ian was into bestiality too. 

He was a self obsessed narcissist who had an addiction to recording himself (as well as other people) having sex, he would take nude pictures of himself and reportedly worked as a prostitute in London when the band fell apart due to the allegations and just before he was sent to prison. 

The horrendous catalogue of the sick crimes of Ian Watkins include the following:

- Conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a baby.

- The attempted rape of a child under the age of 13.

- The sexual assault of a child under the age of 13.

- Making and storing indecent images of children.

- Possessing material of a sickening nature which involved an animal.

- He was also caught with a mobile phone in prison, 

One of Ian's sick fantasies was to abuse a baby, he told one of the starstruck women ''The good thing about babies is they'll put anything in their mouth''. He also told one of his fans ''If you belong to me, so does your baby'', (these lines have haunted me ever since the first time I read them in the court papers).

Going through the court documents of this case is very difficult, a lot of people cannot get through it, some people cry, some get very angry, some are sick. The details in this case are horrendous and every time you think you've heard or read enough there's more disgusting and vile details, it's very difficult to get through. 

When you look at Ian on the stage in a throwback musical performance or see him in an interview, it's hard to believe that this same guy had all this horror deep within him. He was a monster, a nightmare waiting to happen. He felt power over these starstruck fans (who I have to say, were pathetic and just as sick as he was. If you're willing to put your child in harms way for the sake of a sick, twisted rockstar pedophile, then you don't deserve to be a mother and you should be locked up too) and abused that power. 

When he was finally exposed he played the innocent man and his fans fell for it. They adored him, he was this good looking, successful young rockstar who was on the posters in their bedrooms and had thousands of girls after him, they couldn't possibly believe those stories about him. 

The whole thing was downplayed as two salty fans who were obsessed with Ian and tried to ruin his career but as the evidence piled up and the handcuffs were on, it was clear that heartthrob Ian wasn't the perfect idol that his fans thought he was. 

They all listened and watched in horror as the full details of Ian's crimes were exposed and everything was backed up with tapes, pictures and witnesses, there was no way he could be innocent and no way he was going to get out of it. 

I think about those fans who adored him, worshipped him, had his name and lyrics tattooed on their arms, what they must have felt. We all know that celebrities are human and they are not perfect, some take drugs, some are womanisers, but to do the things that Ian Watkins did and planned to do, that was beyond anyone's comprehension & worst nightmare. 

So, of course with the mountain of evidence against him there was only one place Ian Watkins could go.....straight into a prison cell. He was sentenced to 29 years & 10 months plus 6 years on extended licence. The two starstruck fans who helped him in his depravity were sentenced to 14 and 17 years. He began his sentence in 2013 in what is known as The Monsters Mansion (Wakefield Prison, England) before being transferred to Long Lartin Prison to be nearer his mother who was in poor health. 

(Wakefield Prison: The Monsters Mansion, home to many of the world's most dangerous criminals and of course, Ian Watkins. Picture credit: Alamy)

Ian Watkins is now 44 years old, still a young man but a waste of a life and a talent, He claimed he was addicted to filming himself having sex and that it just got out of hand. There's no excuse for what he did and what he is. He's a sick monster and the judge even described him as a ''Committed and organised pedophile and possibly one of the most dangerous sex offenders he had ever seen''

Since Ian has been behind bars things have not been quiet where he has been concerned. He got into trouble for having a mobile phone, strange messages were appearing on his Twitter account reported to be him. He has mountains of fan mail sent to him, a lot of them are from females, some of them are single mothers begging for his attention. He returns flirty, sexual letters back to these women trying to manipulate them into sending him nude pictures of themselves. He's very cocky and arrogant in his letters and obviously still thinks that he is something special when in fact he wouldn't last 5 minutes out in the streets of the UK. Ian has never expressed remorse for his actions, he describes his sickening behaviour as ''Mega Lolz''. 

The prison staff have been keeping an eye on the letters he receives and in a few cases the women writing to him have been reported to social services and had their children taken into the care of the state. Like I mentioned earlier, if you're a mother (or anyone for that matter), what the hell are you doing writing to a convicted pedophile? It seems that some people in this world still live in a fantasy, obsessed with their idols and just cannot see through their looks. 

A picture emerged online of Ian from behind bars and he still looked every inch the rockstar with his styled hair and tattoos, this added a sickening touch of glamour to the whole thing like Ted Bundy's trial where he looked smart, well educated and charming. Some people had to remind themselves that Ted Bundy was a sick murderer. I never forgot, I'm one of those people that can see past looks and if someone is too charming, too smooth, I become suspicious. It's all in the eyes with these people, if you look at their eyes you will see a darkness that you just can't describe, like there's something sinister about them that you can't quite put your finger on, that's your instincts telling you to stay clear of that individual. 

You can probably understand why it's taken me a while to have the nerve to post this horrible case but what this man has done and what he was planning to do should not be ignored or forgotten about. Just because he was a celebrity and had thousands of fans at one point in his life it doesn't take away that this individual is a sick monster. 

His former band members got back together with another lead singer and a new name, 'No Devotion'. That was a few years ago and things have been quiet since so I assume they must have broke up. As well as all of the other devastation here, it must have been particularly horrendous for Ian's bandmates to see all of their dreams and success go up in smoke and to find out that the person they considered a close friend, to be this absolute monster. 

I would like to thank you for joining me on this post, it must have been a difficult read as much as it was a difficult story for me to write but unfortunately this is the world we live in. 

I think about all of the people who've had their lives turned upside down because of Ian Watkins, his fans who believed in him only to find out the horrible truth later on, I think about all of those poor children and animals who were in those images and videos that Ian Watkins and sick people like him, had stored on their computers and phones. 

I have a deep hatred for anyone who harms a child (or an animal) and I will never forget the day that a policewoman said to me that she had to deal with all sorts of sick and horrendous cases, even assaults on babies and I was completely horrified and shocked. I was 15 years old at the time and I just couldn't get my head around that and never understood how these horrible things can happen. It makes me what to run out and try and protect every child that I can. 

Further Reading & Sources:

- Ian Watkins | Court Documents

- Wakefield Prison | Wikipedia

- Ian Watkins: Article | The Sun

- Ian Watkins | Wikipedia

- Lostprophets | Wikipedia

- Ian Watkins (Documentary)

- Ian Watkins: Article | Examiner Live

- Ian Watkins: Article | Daily Star

- Ian Watkins: News Report | Channel 4

- Ian Watkins: News Article | Mirror

I have no sympathy for paedophiles, never have and never will. I would even go so far to say that some sort of death penalty or castration should be in order for individuals like that. 

I hope that in this post I have given you the story of Ian Watkins as sensitive as I could. I appreciate you taking the time to read this post and I hope you will join me again next Sunday (don't forget that you can find all of my social media links here) for my next case.

[UPDATE: Ian Watkins was attacked and held hostage by 3 fellow prisoners on the 5th of August 2023 in Wakefield Prison. Ian had been held hostage by the trio for 6 hours before riot police were able to break up the scene. Ian suffered a brutal beating before being stabbed in the neck. He is currently in hospital but the severity of his condition is unknown. I will keep you updated via this post] 

You may also be interested in this post where I share my experiences with some of Ian Watkin's obsessed 'groupies' online. Please be aware that graphic content is shared in that post. 

Stay safe & catch you in my next post or on my Socials x 

(David and Penelope Jackson. Picture credit: This Week)

In the past few posts here on my blog, I seem to have written about a few cases that are all in a similar vein. I didn't plan on doing this, it just happened. I'm always in the middle of researching cases and when this particular story popped up in the UK press recently, it was hard for me to ignore. 

There seems to be this frightening occurrence that some of these couples (who've known each other for decades) just suddenly fly of the handle and kill their partner and it isn't by slipping some arsenic into their tea, it's always up close and personal. Whether it be throwing boiling hot water over an individual as they slept, trap them in a bathroom and strangle them or in this case repeatedly stab your husband even when he's on the phone to the police. 

We have to use the word 'allegedly' in this case because the trial is currently ongoing as we speak, It's supposed to run for 3 weeks. Obviously I will be keeping an eye on things and updating you on the verdict but you don't have to be Albert Einstein to work out how all of this is going to pan out. 

So let's get into some of the background of the case. Penelope and David Jackson looked just like any other older happy couple posing for photographs and taking regular holidays but as we learn with all of these types of cases, all was not as it seemed. Penelope had been married 4 times previously and her husband 3 times, so both of them had been around the block a few times and had seen a bit of life, why their marriages never lasted is a bit of a mystery but sometimes people just grow apart or could it have been something to do with the fact that they were both very headstrong and controlling people?

Penelope (currently 66) was younger than David (78) and were reported to have a fiery relationship. Out of the pair of them, Penelope was the one in control according to people who knew the couple, David seemed to be on edge a lot of the time that he was around her. 

Penelope apparently loved to create negative atmospheres and would enjoy making people feel uncomfortable with her actions and words. 

In December of last year (2020) the police were called to the house where the couple lived after the neighbours complained of some commotion. When the police arrived they found that Penelope and David had been having a shouting match over a remote control for the TV. David had reportedly grabbed Penelope so hard that she had bruises on her arm. 

They were always fighting, it was like they couldn't be in the same room together for 5 minutes without getting at each others throats. One wonders why they stayed together, maybe it was a financial thing or a part of them enjoyed the constant turmoil, who knows?

They had been married for 24 years and lived in a comfortable bungalow in a place in England called Berrow in Somerset. David had been a retired lieutenant colonel and Penelope had been a former accountant for the Ministry of Defence. They were used to the good life and had visited many beautiful locations around the world. There was a very passionate side to their relationship with Penelope having the words 'Property of David Jackson' tattooed just above her bottom. But with the passion they both had for each other there was also a dark side, both were very jealous, particularly Penelope but David had his faults too. 

The arguments were frequent and on many occasions felt like they could get out of hand. Their marriage was a constant cycle of arguments day in, day out when things finally came to head in February of this year (2021). They'd had another one of their arguments after celebrating Penelope's birthday with a dinner of seafood and champagne. Penelope, who was sick to death of it,  stormed off to the bedroom with the intention of taking her own life. As she sat there with those thoughts she suddenly said to herself ''Why should I be the one who has to end my life. It's him! he's the problem, It should be him''.

She picked up a knife and found David in the kitchen and charged at him, stabbing him as hard as she could, trying to aim for his heart, there was blood everywhere and the pair struggled. In the middle of all of this, David was trying to dial 999 and told the cops that his wife was trying to kill him. Penelope wasn't phased by this and continued to attack her husband. As she stabbed him the final time, the police overheard David scream in agony. They tried to talk Penelope into giving David CPR until the ambulance arrived but she refused. 

When the police arrived they found Penelope, still standing in her nightwear covered in blood acting calm and very matter of fact. Without a tear, shock or any sort of emotion she told the police that her husband was in the kitchen and that she hoped that he was dead. She told them straight away that she was trying to stab him and that she hoped that she'd managed to do it properly so he would bleed to death. 

She claimed that it had been a long time coming after years of abuse by David. She said ''I tried to aim for his heart but he hasn't got one''

David was in the kitchen lying lifeless on the floor. The police arrested Penelope and took her to the station where she make flippant remarks, acting as if the whole situation was a joke. She was happy that her husband was dead and she had no remorse, care or feeling about it. She claimed that she was happy to accept anything that was going to come to her for what she had done, to her it was all worth it. She had been talking and joking that much that the police had to advise her to be quiet and wait for her lawyer. Penelope expressed that she wasn't bothered about a lawyer either, she told them she stabbed him and that was that. 

Right now the trial is ongoing at Bristol Crown Court and is set to wrap up in a couple of weeks. I will be updating this post with any new news and the verdict. Penelope is claiming manslaughter. 

Penelope claims that what she did was in self defence after being in an abusive relationship for years with David who she described as a control freak. On the night of the stabbing, the pair were drunk. Penelope had also left a note by the telephone which said:

''Self Defence. To whom it may concern. I have taken so much abuse over the years - look at my records. But he was a good Daddy. However, the mask slipped tonight. That was unforgivable. I accept my punishment, may he rot in hell'' 

People who knew David, such a his daughter from his first marriage and his ex wife, described how he was scared of Penelope and when asked why he did not leave her, he replied that she had threatened to cut off his penis if he did. 

It's unclear what was exactly said that night that they had that argument but it was enough to tip Penelope into full blown anger. 

Penelope had a history according to those close to the couple of being very argumentative and would love to provoke people. David was described as being a bit of a lap dog where Penelope was concerned, he seemed to be on edge and nervous around her. 

As I mentioned before, I will be updating this case over the next few weeks until the outcome is reached. What are your thoughts on this case? Why do people stay in such toxic relationships? You must get out if you are in one, it only leads to more trouble ahead and in some cases it can end in death. You have to get out. 

October 2021: Since I last wrote about this case, the trial has been ongoing with many details and shocking revelations revealed. In the beginning we had David's loved ones describing Penelope as the dominant one in the relationship who David was nervous to be around and due to how things ended, one could be forgiven for believing that to be the case as a lot of men suffer Domestic abuse too. 

But, now we have Penelope's side of the family revealing that there were two situations where David was quite a horrible individual towards his wife. At a family BBQ he held a knife to his wife's throat and on another, Penelope was seen with a bloody nose. 

Penelope claimed that David was verbally and physically abusive to her on a regular basis. The lawyers for David's family said that if David was so controlling then she would not have been able to leave the house, go to the Gym or see her friends 

Friday 29th of October: After 11 hours of deliberation and days of testimony, a verdict was reached, Penelope Jackson as found guilty of the murder of her husband. The Judge explained that he believed there had been difficulties in the relationship with abuse from each of the parties involved but that didn't excuse Penelope's actions during or after her husband's murder. The fact that she found the situation amusing as the offers arrested her and had shown no remorse throughout her trial, spoke volumes. She was sentenced to 18 years at Bristol Court in England. 

Thank you for joining me on following this case x

Further Reading & Sources:

- Penelope Jackson Trial | This Week

- Penelope Jackson: Article | The Times

- Penelope Jackson: Article | ITV News

- Penelope Jackson: Article | Daily Mail

- Penelope Jackson: Article | The Mirror

Thank you as always for checking out my latest case & I'll keep you updated x

This week I am bringing you another case from the UK, a recent one and this time it's not the wife who's responsible for the death of her partner, it is the husband who is at fault this time and what a shocking case this one is. 

Before I begin like always, just a reminder that you can find me on my social media links here, donations can be made here if you enjoy my weekly content and want to help support my work. You can also find my YouTube channel here

So, let's get into this shocking true crime story which takes place in a town called Brinnington, Stockport (England). Thomas and Yvonne had met each other as kids and became childhood sweethearts. The pair were inseparable and always seemed to be like two peas in a pod. Fast forward 32 years, they had eventually married and spent 24 of those 32 years married and for a long time things were great, they were like soulmates and best friends, they did everything together and had 3 children. 

In recent years however, the kids had grown up and flew the nest which left them both together for the majority of the time that Thomas wasn't at work. Thomas had a job as a truck driver, the hours could be stressful and he could spend long periods of time away from home but they needed the money and Yvonne understood this. Having what she thought was a solid marriage, Yvonne was soon shocked and heartbroken to discover that Thomas had been unfaithful to her. They managed to patch things up but deep down there was a sense that Yvonne never quite forgave him and felt that the trust in their relationship had lowered. 

With the stress of Thomas's job and the thoughts of his affair in the back of Yvonne's mind, it was understandable that things between the pair had been pretty tense. Yvonne's confidence had taken a bit of a knock and it didn't take long until she started enjoying the attention that came from another man. 

The marriage between Thomas and Yvonne had run it's course, possibly years before but they stayed together because it was comfortable for them both and they both had deep insecurities. Yvonne felt that Thomas didn't notice her anymore and no doubt he felt the same way. Yvonne continued to see this man behind Thomas's back and when he found out, all hell broke loose. 

Given that they'd been together for so long and knew each other inside out they somehow managed to keep things together after this crisis but Thomas had changed, he'd become more suspicious, more possessive and more jealous. 

The arguments between the pair got worse and at this point it is a wonder why they were even still married. They both existed in the same house but didn't get on the majority of the time. 

One Saturday morning on the 23rd of May 2020 the couple were snapping at each other over silly things and the neighbours could hear everything that was going on. It was 9am and the pair were screaming so much that the neighbour actually texted Yvonne to see if everything was ok. Yvonne replied back that they were just having a stupid argument over frozen chips. 

It seemed that the fight over the frozen chips was the straw that broke the camel's back for Thomas because he chased after his wife and trapped her in the bathroom where he proceeded to strangle her. 

[Just a warning that I'm about to share some disturbing details]

Once he strangled his wife and there was no pulse, he bundled her body into the bath tub and went in search of a knife and a tree lopper before coming back to the bathroom. There he began cutting up his wife's body, the woman he had known for over 30 years and the mother of his children. In another sickening fact in this case, it was later revealed that Thomas had been texting his children in between dismembering his wife's corpse. He was using Yvonne's phone pretending to be her. 

After he had done cutting up the body, he began placing the remains into black trash bags. He was captured on CCTV footage carrying these bags to a skip, a council tip and a park where he dumped them before returning home empty handed. 

The children and family were led to believe that Yvonne and Thomas just had an argument and she just took off. He told everyone that the last time he had seen her she had been going to see that other man she'd had the affair with. It was common knowledge that the pair had troubles in their marriage so it wasn't too suspicious until the moment one of the children found their mother's rings and phone in their Dad's pocket. 

Some dog walkers had discovered some of Yvonne's remains and went to the police and Thomas was pulled into the station for questioning, he was interviewed at least three times before he gave in and confessed. He said he was like Hannibal Lecter and just could not stop. He pleaded guilty for the murder of his wife. 

Investigators did their best to find all of Yvonne's remains but could only find around 50%. 

Thomas wrote a letter expressing how sorry he was for what he had done and that he hoped his children could one day forgive him. Their daughter spoke on behalf of the other children and said how extremely difficult this had been for them and how they loved their mother so much but that they also loved their father too. 

Thomas was portrayed in court as a man who was of good character up until that point. They believed that there had not been a history of violence (In my personal opinion, I find that hard to believe. A lot of domestic violence incidences go unreported and considering what he did to his wife and the lying he did afterwards says a lot about his character) and seemed to believe that this was a one off, unpremeditated incident. 

Thomas McCann was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 12 years and 182 days. 

It was later revealed that shortly after he began his sentence for the brutal murder of his wife, he wrote a letter to an ex-mistress of his begging her to write to him. He told the woman that he ''put her to sleep'', meaning his wife and said that he couldn't let go of feelings about Yvonne and only killed her because she kept rubbing her affair in his face. 

This was another shocking case to cover especially in the light of the recent murder of Gabby Petito (the 22 year old woman who had been on a road trip with her fiance who had reportedly assaulted her. She was later found dead and he went on the run) and the R Kelly case (where women were reportedly held against their will, forced into sexual slavery and beaten if they didn't do as he ordered). Gabby had known her partner since high school and obviously felt she could trust him. There are so many cases I could give as examples with both abusive male and female partners but that is for another post that I will be covering in the future. 

Just goes to show (as with my previous case) you could be married to someone for years and still not know them or what they are capable of. I do believe that there is red flags there though, for a man to react so violently like that over chips (sure he had been stewing over the affair and other things but all he had to do was walk out and get a divorce) and he didn't just kill his wife by strangulation (that is very up close and personal to do that, to choke the life out of someone) he cut her body into pieces and threw her remains away like trash and lied about it. 

This man (look who I'm calling a man) had the ability to disrespect the mother of his children, the woman he had known for over 30 years, affair or no affair, where is the humanity? And he went to a barbecue like nothing happened, telling people she just walked out on him. It's sickening. 

What are your thoughts on this case? Please leave them below I would love to hear your thoughts. 

RIP Yvonne (or as her friends and family often called her, ''Von'') 

Further Reading & Sources: 

- Thomas McCann: Article | Daily Mail

- Thomas McCann Trial | Manchester Evening News

- Thomas McCann Article | BBC News

- Thomas McCann Article | Mirror

- Thomas McCann Article | The Guardian

- Thomas McCann | Greater Manchester Police

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As always, thank you for checking out my latest case and I hope you will join me in the next one x