|
From the
https://www.kentonline.co.uk By Julia Roberts, 1 May 2024.
Stephanie Langley found guilty of murdering landlord of Hare and Hounds in Maidstone.
A woman who stabbed her ex brother-in-law to death in an "irrational but
intentional" attack outside his pub has today been convicted of murder.
Stephanie Langley confronted Matthew Bryant, landlord of the Hare and
Hounds in Maidstone town centre, as he was phoning police to report her
for threatening to kill him.
Stephanie Langley of Wilsons Lane, East Farleigh, was found guilty of
murdering pub landlord Matthew Bryant. Picture: Kent Police.
Jurors heard his last words to the 999 operator were "I've just been
stabbed" after the 55-year-old mum of two plunged a large kitchen knife
twice into his back and then fatally into his chest and through his
heart.
Langley showed no emotion on hearing the unanimous verdict and was told
by Judge Philip St.John-Stevens that he was adjourning sentence for what
was a "considered act of revenge" until a later date, which will be
decided at a brief hearing next Tuesday (May 7).
Remanding Langley in custody, where she has been since her arrest, Judge
St.John-Stevens said: "There is only one sentence, it has to be life
imprisonment.
"I know everyone is anxious there is resolution but I need time to
consider material on both sides (prosecution and defence) and to ensure
the sentence is the correct one."
“What I have to determine is the minimum term which has to be served
before there is even an eligibility for release.
Speaking after the verdict, Matthew’s wife Caroline Bryant said outside
court: “I just feel like justice has been done. My life hasn't been the
same since Matthew died. He was taken from us in such a cruel way.
"Stephanie felt the need to drag Matt's name through the mud and make
him out to be a monster which he wasn't. I have to relive this every day
for the rest of my life. I will never forget my Matt and neither will
his friends and family for the man he really was.
"He certainly wasn't the man she made him out to be. He wasn't a monster
and definitely not a rapist, and certainly wouldn't have threatened her
daughter.
"All she's achieved is ruining many lives and taking the love of my life
away.
"Matthew was a fun loving man, he really was. The customers loved him.
He laughed and had jokes about everyone - he was never horrible. He
wasn't a bully, he wasn't like that at all. He was a lovely fun loving
man.
"We were due to go to Paris but then she took him away from me.
"This has had a lot [of impact] on me. I've got nothing now. I've got my
friends and my family and kids and they've all been very supportive, but
that doesn't bring my Matt back. Nothing will bring him back.
"I would like to say a massive thank you to the police and detectives
for all they've done. I feel so truly grateful."
Mr Bryant, 52, collapsed in the street and despite the heroic efforts of
pub customers, passers-by and medical professionals, he died at the
scene.
But while life-saving attempts were being made, and even once under
arrest, an unrepentant and "vengeful" Langley ranted repeatedly that she
was glad she had stabbed him, he deserved to die, and she was happy to
go to jail.
It was said she held a "burning belief" that he was abusive, violent,
had once committed rape, and she "hated" him.
She was even caught on camera raising her fists in a "celebratory"
gesture the moment her victim's body appeared limp and lifeless.
Langley, of Wilsons Lane, East Farleigh, denied murder but was found
guilty by the jury after deliberations lasted just over three hours.
Although she admitted an offence of possessing a knife and accepted
causing the injuries, she had also denied manslaughter, saying she had
acted in self-defence after Mr Bryant threatened to "find her daughter".
This however was refuted by the prosecution who said he had been nothing
but "calm, courteous and polite" in their meeting that fateful day, only
for her to react violently.
The Hare and Hounds pub cordoned off following the attack.
Although once related by marriage, she and Mr Bryant had not had any
contact for more than 20 years until May last year.
Having been invited to the Lower Boxley Road pub by her son, Langley
became "verbally obnoxious and almost uncontrollable" when she saw her
ex-brother-in-law.
The landlord himself described how she had been "gunning" for him.
But jurors heard his death four months later was not the result of a
similar "random, chance encounter" but rather a "deliberate and
intentional" decision by Langley to return to the pub armed with the
largest knife taken from a block in her kitchen.
Her clothing - a thick, padded gilet worn over a knee-length dress - was
also said by the prosecution to be "an odd choice", given the late
summer heat that day, but a conscious one as it had deep pockets in
which to hide her weapon.
Described as an "inspirational" woman, Langley had held a number of jobs,
including cleaning, gardening and dog walking, following her release
from prison in 2002 from an 11-year sentence for drug smuggling.
But in the weeks leading up to the murder, her life was unravelling as
she dealt with a family dispute, her mother's poor health, her son's
involvement in a fatal road accident and financial struggles, as well as
seeking help for her daily drinking habit.
It was said she was also known to resort to violent outbursts when
upset, and had once assaulted her partner and her sister.
But prosecutor Nina Ellin KC told the court that by the day of the fatal
stabbing Mr Bryant had become "the focal point for Langley's rage".
She first arrived at the pub at 5.53pm to be served a whiskey by her
former brother-in-law, who then sat with her at a table.
CCTV captured images - but not sound - of their conversation, and then
showed Langley repeatedly smashing his phone on a table corner as he
tended to a customer who she had told to order a drink "while he is
still alive".
Having then made further threats, she was ordered to leave by Mr
Bryant's wife Caroline while he dialled 999.
With a departing remark of "You're dead tonight", Langley then returned
to her Volvo car parked a little up the road, drove it around the corner
to Maidstone East train station, and then headed back to the pub on
foot.
By the time she arrived for a second time at around 6.05pm, Mr Bryant
was mid-call to police.
But when he offered his phone to Langley, she swiped it from his hand
and then, as he bent down to retrieve it from the road, promptly began
to stab him.
The attack itself was not captured on CCTV but was witnessed by
horrified onlookers.
One later told police she had held the blade in "a dagger motion" above
her head and yelled "I told you I would stab you." Langley also shouted:
"I hope he is f***ing dead."
Another eye-witness described Langley as being in an "alcohol-driven
rage" and seeing her victim "die on his feet".
The court heard that the time gap between the phone being knocked from
his grasp and the knife landing on the ground was just 24 seconds.
Giving evidence to the jury, she claimed she had simply decided to go to
the Hare and Hounds to tell her son - who played for its pool team - she
"could not deal" with him mixing with Mr Bryant - who she referred to in
texts as "the w*****".
She said she also planned to tell the landlord that she believed he was
still abusing women.
But jurors were told she then stabbed him three times "to protect" her
teenage daughter from his supposed threat.
With the blade penetrating 20cm deep into his torso, the court heard
Langley ignored desperate pleas from a pub customer not to pull it out.
Mr Bryant then fell face down on the road with a chest wound said by a
pathologist to be unsurvivable without immediate surgery.
Having been restrained and then sat at a nearby table, a ranting Langley
continued to accuse the dying Mr Bryant of being a rapist - something
she had been told just once and many years earlier.
She was also recorded at the scene by police body-worn video footage.
Played in court, it showed her in a distressed state, shouting "Get away
from me, I want to stab him. I killed him. I don't care. I want him
dead...I'm just so happy. I hate him so much....I hope he dies."
At the start of the murder trial, Ms Ellin said Langley had directed her
unhappiness and anger at her former brother-in-law.
"On September 11 she was down, fed up with various members of her
family, she had issues with her car and financial problems. She had also
been drinking," the prosecutor told the jury of six men and six women.
"She was annoyed that her son wanted to play pool at Mr Bryant's pub
and, in her mind, it was Mr Bryant who was at fault - he was the focus
of her rage.
"So she took the largest kitchen knife from her home and she went to him
and killed him.
"It was impulsive, it was irrational, but it was also deliberate and
intentional."
Jody Tyman from CPS South East said: “This is an absolutely tragic case.
The victim posed no threat to the defendant or anyone else, despite the
defendant’s claims to the contrary.
“He had called the police at the time he was killed to ask for their
help, after the defendant made various threats against him, saying
repeatedly that she wanted him dead.
“Langley claimed in court that she had never intended to hurt her
victim, but we were able to demonstrate that her actions on that night
were deliberate and intentional and amounted to murder.
“Our thoughts are with Matthew’s family and friends and those members of
the public who witnessed this appalling attack and tried to help save
his life.”
Detective Constable Hannah Crittenden, of the Kent and Essex Serious
Crime Directorate, said: “Matthew Bryant was a much-loved husband and
popular landlord, and his murder was carried out in cold blood by a
calculating offender.
“Langley set about carrying out a violent and unprovoked attack on her
victim, in broad daylight in front of horrified customers, with little
regard to the consequences.
“As the investigating officer, I would like to place on record my thanks
to those who witnessed this tragic incident and had the courage to help
us as we carried out enquiries.” |
