Loving dad stabbed to death in 'brutal and cowardly' attack by stranger he had never met
| Published date | 09 December 2021 |
| Publication title | WalesOnline (Wales) |
Mr Bell was found a short time later slumped against a wall in a pool of his own blood -despite the best efforts of paramedics he could not be saved. His killer, meanwhile, went on the run and was tracked down to a nearby nature reserve.
Swansea Crown Court heard 22-year-old Keegan has a long history of violent offending, and sending him to prison a judge said it was clear he would pose a danger to the public for the foreseeable future.
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Carina Hughes, prosecuting, said the attack took place late on the night of July 20 this year on Golwg y Castell in the centre of Cardigan. She said the defendant was staying with his girlfriend and her mother at an address on the street, and there was evidence that from early that day Keegan was in an intoxicated state.
During the course of the day Mr Bell arrived in the street to visit a friend who lived with his mother next to the property where Keegan was living.
The court heard that on the evening of July 20 a drunk Keegan was seen in the street hitting a bush with a traffic cone, and then around 9pm was "rude and aggressive" to staff at the Premier Store on Priory Street.
At around 11.40pm a taxi was called and Mr Bell and his friend left the house where they had been socialising. Keegan was in the street and began shouting abuse, calling Mr Bell's friend's mother "a junkie", a "smack-head" and "English", and saying "This is my drive".
The prosecutor said Keegan punched Mr Bell a number of times but the older man did not react, simply walking away down the hill. The defendant shouted "I don't want to see you here again" to which Mr Bell replied by telling him to calm down. With that the defendant picked up a large kitchen knife and went after Mr Bell -when he caught up with his victim he repeatedly stabbed the man in the back.
Keegan then went back home and said: "I stabbed him."
The court heard just before midnight police received a number of calls both about the incident on Golwg y Castell, and from members of the public who reported seeing a bleeding and injured man in Cardigan town centre. Officers found Mr Bell slumped against a wall near the Fusion restaurant in a pool of blood. Paramedics were soon on the scene but despite...
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