Gambling debts led to massage parlour murders
· Victims suffered multiple hammer blows to the head
· Attacker studied internet sites in preparation
Matthew Taylor
Thursday April 19, 2007
The Guardian
A gambler who bludgeoned two women to death with a hammer had surfed the internet looking for ways to commit murder and robbery in the weeks leading up to the attack, a court heard yesterday.
Halfway through the first day of his trial at Birmingham crown court yesterday, Garry Harding, 22, who was £16,000 in debt, admitted killing the two women in a massage parlour in Shrewsbury.
The court heard that Samantha Tapper, 23, and Annie Eels, 55, were alone at the parlour, known as Rachael's Health Studio, when Harding arrived in July last year. Their bodies were found the next day. Ms Eels, who was a receptionist, suffered at least 16 hammer blows to the head and Ms Tapper, who worked as a prostitute, 14. Harding had taken £330.
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Stephen Linehan QC, prosecuting, told the court that on the day of the attack Harding, from Welshpool, Powys, had made a call from a phone box minutes before he arrived. Records revealed the call had been made to the massage parlour and he would have been told no clients were there.
Mr Linehan said: "What the two women could not have known is that he [Harding] had not come for sex but to kill them. He was armed with a hammer and bludgeoned them to death."
Harding, unemployed, who had previously visited prostitutes at the parlour, left the building at 3.40pm and when interviewed by police he said both women were alive when he left.
Three other men made calls to the shop shortly after 3.40pm and they said there was no answer. Mr Linehan added: "The calls were not answered because the women were dead."
The bodies were discovered in the early hours of Sunday July 2 when drinkers noticed the shop lights had been left on.
They opened the front door but ran away when they saw a hand or a foot in the doorway. When others passed the shop they saw the bodies and flagged down a passing police car.
After killing the women Harding went home and watched the England versus Portugal World Cup football match on television.
Several weeks later police released CCTV images which were circulated in the local press and television. Mr Linehan said: "That night he wrote a letter in which he confessed to the killings, and handed it to his brother, telling him not to read it until he'd left."
When police searched Harding's computer, they found he had been visiting websites looking for solutions for his gambling and credit card debts. He had also visited numerous suicide websites and had considered taking his own life.
Mr Linehan said: "He had borrowed a lot of money and had lost in gambling. He owed just over £16,000 to the bank and credit cards and it is claimed that these debts preyed on his mind."
This caused him to search the internet for a solution. Police also found the defendant had looked for information on how to commit robbery and murder. "The plain fact is Mr Harding had begun to construct a plan to get out of debt through murder and robbery."
Outside court, Detective Chief Inspector Sheila Thornes, who headed the investigation, said: "I welcome the guilty pleas. This means relatives of Samantha Tapper and Annie Eels have been spared the ordeal of sitting through a lengthy trial."
Harding will be sentenced today.
· Victims suffered multiple hammer blows to the head
· Attacker studied internet sites in preparation
Matthew Taylor
Thursday April 19, 2007
The Guardian
A gambler who bludgeoned two women to death with a hammer had surfed the internet looking for ways to commit murder and robbery in the weeks leading up to the attack, a court heard yesterday.
Halfway through the first day of his trial at Birmingham crown court yesterday, Garry Harding, 22, who was £16,000 in debt, admitted killing the two women in a massage parlour in Shrewsbury.
The court heard that Samantha Tapper, 23, and Annie Eels, 55, were alone at the parlour, known as Rachael's Health Studio, when Harding arrived in July last year. Their bodies were found the next day. Ms Eels, who was a receptionist, suffered at least 16 hammer blows to the head and Ms Tapper, who worked as a prostitute, 14. Harding had taken £330.
Article continues
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Stephen Linehan QC, prosecuting, told the court that on the day of the attack Harding, from Welshpool, Powys, had made a call from a phone box minutes before he arrived. Records revealed the call had been made to the massage parlour and he would have been told no clients were there.
Mr Linehan said: "What the two women could not have known is that he [Harding] had not come for sex but to kill them. He was armed with a hammer and bludgeoned them to death."
Harding, unemployed, who had previously visited prostitutes at the parlour, left the building at 3.40pm and when interviewed by police he said both women were alive when he left.
Three other men made calls to the shop shortly after 3.40pm and they said there was no answer. Mr Linehan added: "The calls were not answered because the women were dead."
The bodies were discovered in the early hours of Sunday July 2 when drinkers noticed the shop lights had been left on.
They opened the front door but ran away when they saw a hand or a foot in the doorway. When others passed the shop they saw the bodies and flagged down a passing police car.
After killing the women Harding went home and watched the England versus Portugal World Cup football match on television.
Several weeks later police released CCTV images which were circulated in the local press and television. Mr Linehan said: "That night he wrote a letter in which he confessed to the killings, and handed it to his brother, telling him not to read it until he'd left."
When police searched Harding's computer, they found he had been visiting websites looking for solutions for his gambling and credit card debts. He had also visited numerous suicide websites and had considered taking his own life.
Mr Linehan said: "He had borrowed a lot of money and had lost in gambling. He owed just over £16,000 to the bank and credit cards and it is claimed that these debts preyed on his mind."
This caused him to search the internet for a solution. Police also found the defendant had looked for information on how to commit robbery and murder. "The plain fact is Mr Harding had begun to construct a plan to get out of debt through murder and robbery."
Outside court, Detective Chief Inspector Sheila Thornes, who headed the investigation, said: "I welcome the guilty pleas. This means relatives of Samantha Tapper and Annie Eels have been spared the ordeal of sitting through a lengthy trial."
Harding will be sentenced today.
