Man guilty of murder of Cardiff dad Russell Peachey

Wales
Tuesday 12 April 2016 at 12:12pm

A man has been found guilty of the "brutal and merciless" murder of a dad after seeing him having a row with his girlfriend in a Cardiff street.

James Williams, 31, was with three friends when he chased 35-year-old Russell Peachey down the road before attacking him with a hammer.

The three other men were cleared of murder but today a jury at Cardiff Crown Court found Williams guilty of Mr Peachey's murder.

James Williams was found guilty of murder and jailed for 20 years. Credit: South Wales Police

The court heard Mr Peachey and his girlfriend Tracey Gill were having a "spirited and animated exchange" on a night out in Grangetown, Cardiff before Williams and others got involved.

The couple had been in a relationship for just over a year.

Vincent Coughlin, prosecuting, said:

Russell Peachey (right) with friends. Credit: Family Photo

And the court heard how Williams and his friends then got involved in a row with Mr Peachey before chasing him down a road in Grangetown, Cardiff.

Dad-of-two Mr Peachey was later found laying dead in a street by a passerby in the street "his blood running into the gutter."

A wreath at Russell Peachey's funeral. Credit: Family Photo

Dean Beasley, 37, Christopher Smith, 41, of Barry, and Shaminder Singh, 40, of Grangetown, Cardiff, were all cleared of murder.

Williams of no fixed abode, admitted manslaughter but was found guilty of murder.

Jailing him for life with a minimum term of 20 years, Judge Keith Thomas said:

The funeral of Russell Peachey at St Paul's Church in Grangetown. Credit: Family Photo

A statement from Mr Peachey's family said:

The full statement from the family of Russell Peachey:

The time of Russell’s death came far too soon. He was only 35 years of age and the suddenness, the senselessness and the nature of his death has shocked and numbed us all. Saturday 1 st August 2015 was the darkest day of our lives. It was on this day that Russell was murdered in the area where he grew up, worked and lived. The incident that unfolded on that day resulted in Russell being taken from us. We are still confused as to why this happened. Russell was the youngest of seven brothers and sisters, the baby of the family and spoilt by all of us. He lived and worked in the Grangetown area his whole life, he was well known throughout the wider community of Grangetown and Cardff for being respectful, well-mannered, caring and was held with high regard within the local community, this was reiterated in all the messages of condolences and endless Facebook notifications received since his death which are still being received today eight months later. In his early years Russell attended Grangetown primary school and then moved up to Fitzalan High school. Throughout, his childhood and beyond he made many lifelong friends. He had two sons, Dylan now aged 8 and Rylan now aged 7 years old and was proud to also be a step dad to Ellis and chosen as a godparent. He was a fantastic father and his boys were his entire life, he spent most of his spare time with them having fun as dads and sons do, taken them on days out, bike rides and especially to beach this has now been taken away from them and all they have left are their memories, the boys miss him every single day and it is heartbreaking to watch them grow up without the father figure they deserve. The murder of their Dad has had a huge impact on them, they are currently having to attend counseling sessions for their loss. Other family members have had to resort to being prescribed medication and attend counselling sessions to help cope with the tragic loss of Russell and this will be ongoing for the foreseeable future. He was a very sociable and outgoing person and was the type of person who once met was not easily forgotten, he was extremely humorous and enjoyed making people laugh. Showing his caring and compassionate nature he organized charity fund raising events in order to support a friend’s daughter who is suffering from Multiple Sclerosis and also events to raise money for local Cancer charities. He was the kindest person anyone could wish to have in their lives, nothing was too much trouble. He was the most placid man you could meet, happy go lucky and very tolerable, he wouldn’t hurt a fly! Shortly, after his death we held a candlelit ceremony near to where his body was found, there were endless flowers/tributes laid and beautiful messages of how he was already being missed so much by his family, friends and local community. His funeral took place on 9 th October 2015, the Church and Church grounds were filled with family and friends even spilling onto the surrounding streets, it was so overwhelming to see that Russell had made such an impact on everyone of these people attending, people attended in their hundreds, all to pay their respects to the fun loving local lad they all loved and had the privilege to meet. The abundance of floral tributes received only supports what we already knew that Russell was an amazing Dad, stepdad, godparent, brother, uncle, nephew and best friend to many and a day will not pass where he will not be missed.