Tipton Town chairman admits plundering £276k from murder victim's policies

The chairman of Tipton Town Football Club today admitted pocketing more than £276,000 from the life insurance and pension policies of a murdered father.

Bill Williams betrayed the family of company director Andrew Diack, just days after he was stabbed to death in a Black Country pub.

Williams listed himself as an executor of a life insurance and pension policy he helped to set up for Mr Diack while working as his accountant.

He then went on to clean out the policies, worth more than £276,600, after the murder.

Williams, of Chester Road, West Bromwich, appeared at Wolverhampton Crown Court today to admit two counts of fraud.

Devastated relatives of Mr Diack, who co-owned Featherstone-based firm Spray Tanker Services, today said they had never been able to properly grieve while the fraud investigation was ongoing.

Partner Rachel Evans, aged 30, was in court to see Williams admit the charges today.

She said: "He's admitted the crime, but he's never once said sorry. Even today, he couldn't look us in the eye.

"He kept his head down which tells you a lot about the type of person he is.

"In a way, we are pleased that he has pleaded guilty but on the other hand we know he has only done that so he will get a lesser sentence.

"To be honest, I'm just happy it is all coming to an end.

"This has been hanging over us two-and-a-half years. When he is sentenced it will finally be finished so we can move on with our lives and forget everything that has gone on."

Today, it was revealed that it is not the first time Williams has committed fraud offences.

He was jailed for three years on two separate occasions in 1986 and again in 1996 for committing frauds totalling more than £200,000. In one case, he took £100,000 from an Anglican priest.

He used the money to employ semi-professional footballers for Harrisons FC of Great Wyrley, a team he used to manage.

Mr Diack, aged 29, of Stafford Road, Fordhouses, Wolverhampton, died after a friend's birthday celebration at the Flying Dutchman pub in Merry Hill, Wolverhampton, in February 2009.

He was stabbed to death by Michael Brown, who had gone out for the night armed with a butterfly knife.

Brown hunted down his victim in the darkened pub using a mobile phone as a torch before he knifed Mr Diack once through the heart.

Brown, aged 19, of Langley Road, Merry Hill, was jailed for life in February last year with a minimum of 16 years for stabbing Mr Diack, whose daughter, Megan, now two, was born days after the killing.

Earlier this season, Midland Alliance club Tipton Town won a place in the First Round of the FA Cup for the first time, banking in the region of £20,000 along the way.

Today 58-year-old Williams kept his head down in the dock and spoke only to plead guilty to the two charges.

He was given unconditional bail by Judge Helen Hughes and will be sentenced on June 6.