Pair Found Guilty Over Stabbing Death In Bellfields

Published on: 26 Feb, 2014
Updated on: 26 Feb, 2014

A jury delivered guilty verdicts on Wednesday (February 26) on a young man and a 14-year-old boy following the death of their mother’s partner in Bellfields last August.

Joshua Ellis, 23, was found guilty of the murder of Neil Tulley following a unanimous verdict, while his brother Jerome Ellis, 14, was found guilty of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility by a majority verdict following a 10-day trial at Guildford Crown Court.

The brothers stabbed their mother’s partner more than 60 times.

The incident scene in August 2013.

Mr Tulley’s body was found on the morning of Tuesday, August 13, on the sofa at the family home in Bellfields.

Neil Tulley.

A forensic post-mortem examination showed Mr Tulley had died after sustaining numerous stab wounds, including significant defence wounds to both of his forearms and around 40 stab wounds to his back.

A police manhunt and public appeal on the whereabouts of Joshua and Jerome was launched after they both went missing following the fatal attack.

Both have been remanded in custody and are due to appear at Guildford Crown Court for sentencing on April 10.

Responses to Pair Found Guilty Over Stabbing Death In Bellfields

Angela Reid-Wentworth Reply

February 27, 2014 at 1:25 pm

What sort of mother would let a man stay and continually violently and mentally abuse not only herself but her children?

What sort of people were the jury made up of that they could find Tulley not guilty of attempted murder in such a scenario? [Ed: a previous case]

What sort of people are the care professionals who did not intervene, or did not intervene enough?

Without any doubt whatsoever the teachers referred to must have reported their concerns to the children’s services. Even a single instance of severe stress can cause a chemical reaction that brings about a damaging physical and permanent change in the brain.

The boy and the young man were clearly subjected to numerous and sustained instances of very severe, even unrelenting stress. Of course, both their minds have been affected.

It would be impossible for them to have been psychiatrically unscathed. I believe the young man should not have been sentenced to prison, as this will have the opposite effect of rehabilitating him.

I firmly believe he should have been sent to either a high secure or medium secure psychiatric hospital under a section 37/41, or similar. Both the boy and young man in this case are being punished for what amounts to a series of most serious neglects and careless `mistakes` by others.
Angela Reid-Wentworth Reply

February 27, 2014 at 2:55 pm

Further to my previous comments and for the benefit of those not already aware, criticism of the police for returning the axe, by some national media, is totally misleading.

It is well known by the media and indeed probably most of the public that as Mr Tulley was aquitted, his property kept as evidence had to be returned to him.

It wasn`t a matter of choice for the police. From the little reported in the news, it seems the police could have done little if any more without the co-operation of other services, such as the health authority and the children’s services.

Let`s lay the blame where it belongs for the lead-up to such a brutal murder, that clearly could have been avoided, and that blame doesn`t appear to belong to the police and in the circumstances hardly belongs to the boy and young man that carried out the act, but does belong to many others who must have had a great many opportunities to intervene to prevent the build-up to such a dreadful consequence.