GUILTY: Grandson convicted of murder after stabbing Anne James to death
A man who stabbed his grandmother to death in a savage attack at her Walsall home has today been found guilty of murder.
Gregory Irvin was convicted of killing 74-year-old Anne James after a week-long trial at Birmingham Crown Court. It took the jury two hours of deliberation to find him guilty.
Irvin, 26, who had racked up £35,000 gambling debts and often took cocaine, is believed to have used Mrs James’ own bread knife to kill her, then removing a security camera and her mobile phone to cover his tracks.
He stabbed his grandmother more than 40 times in the chest and back at her home in Doveridge Place, Sandwell Street.
After a neighbour found Mrs James' body and raised the alarm, Irvin then attended the address with other shocked relatives saying he had spoken to her on the phone earlier that day.
A 15-minute visit
The attack happened during a 15-minute visit on February 28 this year when Irvin arrived to collect money his grandmother was giving him to pay for an engagement ring..
Prosecutor Rachel Brand QC explained to the opening of the trial: "By midday Anne James was at home. She was unpacking her shopping and was doing herself some soup for lunch.
"About half an hour later, she was lying dead in the pantry, just off her kitchen. She had been brutally killed.
"The killer wasn't a stranger to her - it wasn't a burglar.
"On the contrary, the killer was somebody she trusted implicitly and who had always been welcomed into their home throughout his life - it was her own grandson, the defendant, Gregory Irvin."
Mrs James had already been told by her family to stop giving her grandson cash after she handed him £1,000 to settle a gambling debt, the court had heard.
After his arrest Irvin, who had been treated for depression, was diagnosed with high functioning Autistic Syndrome Disorder.
His defence team said the condition may have led to a ‘violent, psychotic meltdown’ distorting his ability to exercise proper judgment and self-control, which may explain what happened that day.
Irvin claimed not to remember the attack and said he'd been hearing devil voices in his head in the months leading up to the killing.
CCTV, DNA and no forced entry
However the prosecution successfully argued that Irvin knew what he was doing, and said Irvin removed a security camera and Mrs James' mobile phone from the house.
Detectives had been able to establish there was no sign of a disturbance or forced entry, making Irvin a prime suspect for the killing.
CCTV showed he had parked in the Highgate area and walked towards his grandmother’s house around lunchtime on the day Mrs James' died.
DNA and blood swabs taken from his blue Mini and jacket also linked him to the crime. The murder weapon has not been found.
Detective Inspector Harry Harrison, from the West Midlands Police homicide team, said: "This was a despicable crime by a compulsive liar, who shunned and manipulated the love and support offered by his family.
"By killing his grandmother he has destroyed their lives and has rightly been convicted of murder.
"This was someone Mrs James would have trusted as her grandson and who had always been welcomed into her home.
"My thoughts remain with the family and I truly hope they can move on and rebuild their lives."
Irvin will be sentenced on October 29.
