Man jailed for 29 years for murdering 'true gentleman'

1/2
12 April 2012

A man was jailed for life for stabbing a 94-year-old "true gentleman" to death, police said.

William Humphrey, known as Bill, suffered multiple stab wounds at his home in Brook Road, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, between 3.30pm and midnight on February 2.

Earlier this week, Marcio Reis De Sa Barros, 31, from the same street, pleaded guilty at St Albans Crown Court to one count of murder and one count of robbery.

Yesterday, at the same court, he was handed a life sentence and ordered to serve a minimum of 29 years, Hertfordshire Police said.

A spokeswoman said Sa Barros bound and stabbed Mr Humphrey, then stole the pensioner's television, camera and a sum of money before leaving the house.

Detective Sergeant Carolyn Taylder, of the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, said: "The murder of William Humphrey was a terrible and unprovoked crime.

"Sa Barros mercilessly killed a true gentleman who was no harm to anyone and I would like to say that, on behalf of myself and the Constabulary, our hearts and sympathies go out to Mr Humphrey's family today.

"The sentence given reflects the severity and horrific nature of the incident and I hope in some way it will help the family to begin to pave the way to getting over from the terrible ordeal that was inflicted on Bill."

Mr Humphrey's family said the pensioner was one of 14 children and went out to work when he was a boy, working at a foundry then serving in the Army from 1939 until the War ended.

He then became a train driver, then driver for the stars at Elstree Studios until he was in his 80s.

They said he was a loving husband to his wife for 65 years and nursed her until she died in 2009.

In a statement issued through police, Mr Humphrey's granddaughter, whose name was not given, said: "My granddad was an independent, family-orientated man who lived happily for 40 years at the home in Borehamwood.

"He was looking forward to reaching 100 years of age and we have no doubt that he would have done if he hadn't been so cruelly taken away from us.

"The moment I found my granddad dead still haunts me and, although I am pleased we will not have to go through a trial to prove his killer's guilt, I would have liked to hear what he had to say about his actions that day.

"It tears us apart to think of the pain and fear Granddad went through during his last moments and no amount of time his killer spends in prison will ever make up for that."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in