Murderer Of Former Soldier Should Remain In Jail, Judge Rules

A 28-year-old man who killed and robbed a former soldier after a row outside a nightclub when aged 17 should stay in jail for at least four more years, a High Court judge has concluded.

Shaun McCook, of Port Talbot near Swansea, and his friend Adam Drew were convicted of murdering 31-year-old Wayne Oglesby in December 2007.

Wayne Oglesby had served for a number of years in Northern Ireland as a Welsh Guard and finished his term on guard duties at Buckingham Palace.

Trial judge Mr Justice Roderick Evans ruled that McCook would be detained "at Her Majesty's Pleasure" and should stay in custody until safe to be released.

He decided that McCook should serve a minimum term of more than 14 years and should not be considered for parole until April 2022.

McCook had argued that his minimum term should be reduced because the risk he posed was now significantly reduced.

But another judge has ruled against McCook and is carrying out a review.

Mr Justice Goose concluded, in a ruling published on Thursday, that there were no grounds for reducing the minimum term imposed by Mr Justice Evans a decade ago.

He said Justice Secretary David Lidington had asked him to examine the case after McCook asked for a review of the minimum term.

Mr Justice Goose said he had examined evidence from prison staff and arguments from lawyers representing McCook.

The judge said he was satisfied that McCook had made "commendable progress" while in prison but nevertheless concluded that there had not been a "significant reduction" in the risk posed.

Prosecutors had told jurors how McCook and Drew, who was 21 at the time of the trial, had punched and kicked Mr Oglesby unconscious in a late night attack in Port Talbot in April 2007.

They then stole his mobile phone, wristwatch and ring as he lay dying.

Mr Justice Evans had given Drew a mandatory life sentence and imposed a minimum jail term of 16 years.