Army urged to stop giving out ceremonial daggers as gifts after murders

The Army has been urged to halt giving retired weapons arsenic status gifts aft a seasoned utilized a ceremonial dagger to execution his neighbours.

Collin Reeves killed Stephen Chapple, 36, and woman Jennifer, 33, successful 2021 aft a long-running parking dispute.

The dagger had been handed to Reeves erstwhile helium retired from the British Army.

Senior Somerset Coroner Samantha Marsh has written to Defence Secretary Ben Wallace urging him to see the "appropriateness" of specified gifts.

"The dagger was not a blunt replica, it was a afloat functional limb susceptible of causing important harm, wounded and, sadly, successful the Chapples' case, death," she wrote successful a prevention of aboriginal deaths report.

"Please reconsider the appropriateness of providing anyone leaving the British Army, careless of fertile oregon status, with what is to each intents and purposes a deadly weapon.

"Such presentation/gifting has fundamentally enactment a deadly limb successful the assemblage wherever I recognize it sadly remains, having ne'er been recovered arsenic it was removed from the country anterior to constabulary attendance, and I americium not persuaded that this is appropriate."

Reeves, an ex-Royal Engineer who served successful Afghanistan, was jailed for beingness successful June past twelvemonth and ordered to service astatine slightest 38 years aft being convicted of the treble execution successful Norton Fitzwarren, Somerset.

Reeves called constabulary conscionable a fewer minutes aft the killings to confess, but aboriginal denied murder, claiming helium was blameworthy of manslaughter owed to diminished responsibility.

But 2 forensic psychiatrists recovered helium was not suffering from psychosis oregon acute post-traumatic accent disorder, and diagnosed him with lone mild to mean depression.

On the nighttime of the murders, Reeves was caught connected a information camera climbing the obstruction separating his plot from the victims' garden, and entering done the backmost door.

The tribunal heard that the Chapples and Reeves antecedently had a bully narration but it had deteriorated erstwhile Mrs Chapple learned to thrust and bought a 2nd car.

Rows implicit parking spaces escalated to the constituent that Reeves' woman Kayley and Mrs Chapple had told their friends they were anxious astir bumping into each different connected the schoolhouse run.

The Defence Secretary has until April 25 to respond to the coroner's report.