A known criminal killed a frail man with Alzheimer’s in a brutal attack at the victim’s home in Stonehouse. Anthony Gardiner, 66, has been jailed for life after murdering 76-year-old John Coxon.
Bristol Crown Court heard how Gardiner, previously of Daniels Road, Stroud, attacked Mr Coxon in his home on Park Road in January 2022. He was rushed to hospital with a head injury but died on March 22. In a foul-mouthed address to the court, Gardiner blamed Covid for Mr Coxon’s death.
Gardiner, who has a long history of violence and criminality, was rearrested for his murder following Mr Coxon’s death and charged after medical reports confirmed the cause of death. He pleaded guilty on December 12 last year.
Mr Coxon was a registered sex offender which was known by Gardiner and other members of the community. The court heard how he breached his sexual harm prevention order in 2017 when he spoke to a girl, who was related to Gardiner, when he passed her home.
However, there was no evidence of the conversation being of a sexual nature. The breach related to unsupervised contact with that child.
In 2021, Gardiner said he wanted a reward for finding Mr Coxon’s displaced wallet. He took him to Coventry Building Society and asked for £400 or £500, however, staff alerted police and Mr Coxon was taken home.
Mr Coxon was visited by care workers twice a day as he lived with Alzheimer’s and had severely advanced type 2 diabetes. On January 12, 2022, he was found on the floor of his kitchen by one of the carers.
He was rushed to hospital where a scan revealed he had a bleed on the brain from a traumatic brain injury. This led to infections and his cause of death was kidney failure, and therefore the traumatic head injury contributed in a significant way to his death.
Gardiner was arrested before Mr Coxon died after he had told others he had gone to his home and stamped on his head. His trainers were seized and forensic tests revealed they had Mr Coxon’s blood on them.
Gardiner initially denied being responsible for the assault but then made admissions to prison guards while he was in custody for other offences. He later wrote to police from prison saying he wanted to “come clean” and asked to be interviewed again.
In another police interview he said a relative had taken their own life as a result of Mr Coxon abusing them, however this was not true. The court heard how there was no evidence to support any suggestion of contact between Mr Coxon and Gardiner’s family, other than when he spoke to a relative in 2017.
Gardiner later wrote a letter to police fully accepting what he had done, and he then pleaded guilty in court. It was said in court that while Gardiner wanted to cause serious harm to Mr Coxon in what was a pre-meditated attack, there is no evidence that he set out with an intention to kill him.
The court was told that it was unclear why Gardiner attacked Mr Coxon that day as he had known about his prior convictions. The pair had also lived close to each other for some years.
Anthony Gardiner
(Image: Gloucestershire Police)
A statement from Mr Coxon’s brother was read to the court in which he said no-one should be subjected to what was inflicted on Mr Coxon. Gardiner has previous convictions which include robbery, wounding with intent, assault, battery, shoplifting, drug and driving offences.
He has been in prison serving a five-year sentence for his part in robbing a disabled man of his wallet in May 2022. He had grabbed the man, who had Parkinson’s disease, by the neck and squeezed it until he handed over his wallet.
Addressing Gardiner, His Honour Judge Picton said: “You are a highly dangerous man and there is no sign whatsoever that the passing of the years is reducing your risk to the public.”
He sentenced Gardiner to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 24 years. Due to the guilty plea, this was reduced to 20 years before he is eligible for release.
Judge Picton said this was a “brutal attack” and that Gardiner knew how frail Mr Coxon was. He added that he must have appreciated the risk an attack such as this carried.
“You have not shown a shred of remorse for what you have done, rather the exact opposite. You appear to celebrate the fact that you have killed another human being.”
In court Gardiner represented himself after he chose to have no legal team. In an expletive laden speech to the court, Gardiner blamed Covid for Mr Coxon’s death and he showed no remorse for his actions.
Following the sentencing, Detective Inspector Adam Stacey said: “Gardiner had exploited Mr Coxon for money and later attacked him inside his own home, leaving him injured on the floor. He has now admitted his actions and has been sentenced for them, and he will spend a lengthy amount of time behind bars.”