Man and woman jailed for life over ‘cowardly’ Folkestone murder

Life sentences have been imposed on two people who murdered a man in his Folkestone home.

Shane Myles and Kayleigh Halliday were sentenced on Friday 26 August 2022 following the murder of 66-year-old Paul Wakefield.

Myles was convicted of murder following a trial at Maidstone Crown Court and the 31-year-old, formerly of Rock Avenue, Gillingham, was ordered to serve a minimum 22 years in prison.

Halliday, 36, formerly of Crown Road, Sittingbourne, admitted murder part-way through the trial and has been ordered to serve a minimum of 21 years and three months before she is eligible for parole.

Investigation

Detectives from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate investigated after Mr Wakefield was found with serious injuries on the evening of Sunday 2 January 2022. He was taken to hospital and died the following day.

Witness evidence showed that Mr Wakefield had received four visitors on the day of the attack, two of whom were Halliday and Myles.

The other two guests had left before Halliday and Myles severely beat the victim, who was also stabbed with a broken bottle. The pair then left the scene.

Mr Wakefield was discovered at 8.50pm and attending officers quickly established Halliday and Myles had been at the property.

They were tracked down and arrested elsewhere in Folkestone around three hours later. Myles had Mr Wakefield’s bank card on him and traces of the victim’s blood were found on both suspects’ shoes.

Detectives later used CCTV to work out the route taken by the pair following the attack and Mr Wakefield’s phone was found discarded on that route.

Court

Halliday and Myles both tried to blame each other for the murder but Halliday changed her plea to guilty during the trial. Myles was later convicted by the jury.

Detective Inspector Ross Gurden of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate said: ‘This was a cowardly and extremely violent attack on a man in his own home and I am pleased the court has recognised the seriousness of the offence with these sentences.

‘Mr Wakefield’s death was deeply upsetting for his family, friends and the local community and I am sure their sense of loss will continue well beyond today.

‘However, I hope the fact that the case has been quickly dealt with and two people are now starting life sentences helps Mr Wakefield’s relatives as they attempt to rebuild their lives.’