Dad’s revenge after son’s death

A MAN who killed a drug addict he believed supplied his son with a fatal dose of methadone must serve at least 12 years behind bars, a top judge has ruled.

Paul Hull had moved in with Roberto Corrado in Bittern Way, Letchworth GC, shortly before he beat him to death with a claw hammer.

In October 2002 he was found guilty of murder at Luton Crown Court and jailed for life.

On Friday his tariff - the minimum number of years he must spend behind bars before being considered for parole - was set at 12 years.

Taking into account the time he spent on remand, he can apply to be released in early 2014, although he will have to convince the Parole Board he is no longer a danger to the public before he can be freed.

Even then, he will only be released on perpetual life licence and will face recall to prison if he steps out of line.

Sitting at the High Court in London, Mr Justice Openshaw said that, had Hull been sentenced for the murder today, his tariff would have been much higher because of new, tougher, guidelines.

The court heard that Hull's 23-year-old estranged son, Greg Chamberlain, died in November 1999 of a drug overdose, and he believed Mr Corrado was responsible.

He made a number of threats to kill him in the months leading up to his death, but still moved in with him in November 2001.

Hull, also a drug addict, attacked 36-year-old Mr Corrado on February 21, 2002, striking him a number of times on the head with the hammer as he sat on a settee in his flat. He never regained consciousness and died from his injuries four days later.

The now 51-year-old later told police that Mr Corrado had "mockingly" told him he had supplied the drugs, as a result of which he had "seen red" and "lost his self control".

At trial Hull pleaded guilty to manslaughter because of provocation, but the jury found it was a premeditated killing.