Colne murderer jailed for life for killing housemate

Richard Chamberlain suffered 17 stab wounds at the hands of Frank Wrona, 44, who killed him at a house in Colne on Easter Sunday (March 31).

Richard was found outside the property by members of the public who called the emergency services while a trail of blood could be seen leading from inside the home to where Richard lay.

Wrona could be heard inside shouting “that’s what you get for nicking my money.”

Francis McEntee, prosecuting at Preston Crown Court, said Wrona had accused Richard and another man of stealing £2,000 from his bank account.

He believed the pair had hacked his phone, though analysis of the device after his arrest showed this did not happen.

 Frank Wrona has been jailed
When police arrived at the locked door blocking them from Wrona, he shouted he’d “slice up” the next person who entered the room and, regarding Richard, said: “Is he dead?”

Wrona yielded when armed police officers arrived.

He was captured on police recordings saying Richard “deserved it” and that he was “f***ing taking the p*ss.”

Wrona had recently been released from prison over a section 20 assault and, with regard to going back to prison, he was also recorded saying “f**k it, it is what it is. No one takes the p*ss out of me.”

He was taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital for treatment to a cut to his hand and became abusive to staff.

Mr McEntee said Richard was pronounced dead shortly before 4pm, with the attack having taken place shortly before 2.30pm.

Richard had been sat in a chair in his bedroom when the attack took place and he had managed to crawl from there, down the stairs and outside.

A statement read to the court by Mr McEntee on behalf of Richard’s family said: "The taking of Richard in such a brutal and callous way will forever haunt us. He did not deserve this, and we did not deserve to lose our son/brother in this horrific manner.

“It is hard to comprehend that we will never see Richard again, never hear his voice and his cheeky little laugh. We will not hear all his witticisms, and factual ramblings or see him progress through life, wherever that may have taken him. We will never be able to celebrate his birthday, Christmas or other key events with him. 

“We are hoping that time will reduce the pain and help us to heal both physically and emotionally. Having said that, we are certain that inwardly this tragic loss will never go away and there will always be everyday triggers bringing flashbacks and the deep sorrow that we feel. 

"Our overwhelming wish is that we had been given a chance to say ‘goodbye’. All Richard would have wanted when he sustained his vicious injuries would have been to have us by his side. Family has been incredibly important to him, for many personal reasons, over the years. He loved and cared about us so much, as we did him. Such a tragic and unnecessary waste of a life that we, our family and friends, will have to endure for the rest of our lives.”

Wrona, of New Market Street, Colne, has 25 previous convictions for 29 offences, including an incident in which he attacked his own brother with a shard of glass from a broken mirror.

Patrick Cassidy, mitigating, said Wrona was massively under the influence of drugs at the time of the incident.

He said it was not a “sustained and planned event” and that he had not bought any weapon to the scene.

Judge Robert Altham, sentencing Wrona, said: “You inflicted such serious wounds on him that despite emergency measures being taken, he couldn’t be saved. He was only 34 years old.

“This was a relentless, frenzied, and determined attack on an unarmed man. This was a horrible death for Richard. He was attacked in his own room, being accused of something he had not done and knew nothing about.”

Wrona was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 16 years and 79 days.

Richard Chamberlain (Image: Lancashire Police)

DCI Andy Fallows, of Lancashire Police's force major investigation team, said: “My thoughts today are with Richard’s devastated family and friends who have had to sit in court and hear the appalling details of how their loved one’s life came to such an unexpected and violent end.

“This was a callous and cowardly attack committed on a vulnerable victim. There is no justification for such spontaneous and excessive violence. After carrying out the ferocious attack he did nothing to help Richard, instead he chose to issue further threats of violence to the first responders.

“While no sentence can ever making up for the taking of a life, I hope Richard’s taken some solace in the fact that Wrona will be in prison for a considerable length of time. He will then have to convince the Parole Board that he poses no risk to the public before he is ever released.”