Gainsborough man who murdered 69-year-old in his Lincoln home faces life in prison

A burglar murdered a 69-year-old man in his own home just two days after being released from prison.

Owen Blades stabbed retired carer John Connolly to death at his terraced house in Portland Street, Lincoln, with a knife he bought just a day after leaving jail.

The 27-year-old who had binged on cocaine and alcohol now faces being jailed for life.

A judge will decide the minimum tariff Blades will have to serve behind bars when he is sentenced later this week.

Blades, from Gainsborough, has admitted murdering Mr Connolly in his home near Lincoln city centre on the morning of June 13, 2024.

Tragically Mr Connolly was not found for five days until June 18 when family members including his two sisters discovered his body following a call that they were concerned for his welfare.

Investigations showed Blades had been arrested on June 13 and charged with stabbing a man who was working at Merkur Slots amusement arcade in Lincoln that same day.

Blades was on remand for wounding arcade worker Tyler Baxter when Mr Connolly's body was found by his family at 11.30am on June 18 and he was quickly identified as a suspect.

Harpreet Sandhu KC, prosecuting, said Blades had been released from Lincoln prison for a sentence of assault on 11 June and took a train to Gainsborough after withdrawing £200.

While in Gainsborough the defendant told a store security guard "my name is Blades, and its Blades for a reason, because I stab people."

Mr Sandhu said the following day (June 12) Blades travelled to Scunthorpe where he went to a store and paid £25 for a stiletto style knife with a five and half inch blade after showing his identification.

"It was a large dagger style lock knife," Mr Sandhu explained.

"It was the knife he would use to stab Tyler Baxter and to stab Mr Connolly to death."

The court heard Blades returned to Lincoln on the morning of June 13 and stole items from a Tesco store before moving on to Merkur Slots.

Mr Sandhu said Blades refused a request from Mr Baxter not to drink from a bottle of alcohol and threatened to "put him in a coffin" when Mr Baxter picked up a phone to ring 999.

"As the defendant said that he pulled out a knife," Mr Sandhu said.

Police attended at 10.55am and Mr Baxter showed them a single stab wound to his abdomen inflicted by Blades.

Officers then began a search for Blades who continued onto nearby Portland Street where a witness saw he was carrying a knife.

"The knife had a dark brown handle and matched the description of the knife he bought in Scunthorpe the previous day," Mr Sandhu said.

The court heard Blades then went into number 99 Portland Street and burgled the property before moving on to number 73 Portland Street - the home where Mr Connolly lived alone.

There was no sign of forced entry and it was likely Mr Connolly had opened the door to Blades, the court was told.

Mr Sandhu said: "The defendant then subjected Mr Connolly to an immediate and sustained attack with the knife."

Blood was distributed around the ground floor and Mr Connolly was later found dead in his armchair.

The pensioner's clothes and slippers were covered in blood, and he had suffered a number of wounds including to the top of his head, his neck, his left eyeball and right ear.

Mr Sandhu revealed: "Mr Connolly had been struck at least 18 times with a knife."

A defensive wound indicated Mr Connolly had tried to defend himself from the attack.

The pensioner died from stab wounds to the neck and blood stains showed Blades had moved around the house and spent over three hours in the property before leaving.

Mr Sandhu said police did attend near Mr Connolly's home at 12.09 on June 13 but officers did not enter or knock at the property.

The court heard Blades eventually disguised himself and went to another property at 13a Portland Street where a woman messaged a friend and stated "this guy has stabbed two people, one dead."

Mr Sandhu said Blades had blood stained bank notes in his possession and argued it was likely that he had stolen from Mr Connolly who had a substantial amount of money in his home.

Blades was arrested by armed police that evening at 13a Portland Street in connection with the stabbing of Mr Baxter.

The folding knife used to murder Mr Connolly was found at the home where his body was discovered on 18 June.

Blades remained silent during a series of police interviews.

The court heard Mr Connolly had worked as a carer and still helped in the community after his retirement.

Mr Connolly had a close relationship with his two sisters and their families.

One of his sisters described Mr Connolly as "a very caring and loving person," Mr Sandhu said.

Blades, of Tennyson Street, Gainsborough, also pleaded guilty to four other offences which he committed on June 13 last year.

They were the burglary at 99 Portland Street, Lincoln; having an offensive weapon, namely a knife in Lincoln High Street; theft of food from a Tesco Express in Lincoln High Street; and wounding Tyler Baxter with intent to cause him grievous bodily harm.

The court heard Blades had eight previous convictions including offences of battery and wounding for which he was jailed for seven years.

The victims included his own mother and an ex-partner.

Blades was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment on 20 May 2024 for an offence of assault occasioning actual bodily harm but released from Lincoln prison on 11 June because of the time he had already served in custody on remand since November 2023.

Phil Bradley KC, defending Blades, argued there was not sufficient evidence to suggest he killed Mr Connolly for financial gain.

Mr Bradley submitted that Blades had enough cash in his bank account which he withdrew after being released from jail.

"He (Blades) simply does not remember what happened," Mr Bradley suggested.

Mr Bradley said Blades had also chosen not to run a trial despite facing life imprisonment.

Blades was taken down from the secure dock to the cells halfway through the hearing and will be sentenced by Judge Simon Hirst on Thursday (May 15)