Double tragedy of victim's family

TEENAGE murder victim Christopher Hartley died because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, his distraught family revealed today.

Family and friends spoke out after Stuart Diamond was jailed for life for the gruesome murder of the tragic Burnley youngster and judge Douglas Brown warned he may never be released.

And they revealed they were trying to cope with a double tragedy, with the death of his sister Julie following an illness last year.

Christopher, 17 , went to Blackpool to find work but was killed by Diamond and then dismembered in a bedsit.

His headless body was found in a bin outside a local hotel.

Despite a massive search police never recovered the teenager's head and personal belongings.

Police have never come up with a motive for the horrific killing but new evidence unveiled in the wake of the seven-day trial has revealed Diamond was a maniac ready to strike at any time.

Diamond, 21, of Park Road, Blackpool, who denied murder, was described as a very dangerous man by the judge, as horrific details of his violent past were revealed for the first time.

Details from a psychiatric report put together after an earlier conviction showed how Diamond fantasized about carrying out a murder. Police also revealed how the convicted man had carried out two vicious attacks which led to him being jailed.

Diamond had slashed one man in the face with a knife and his victim had to have 130 stitches in the wound.

Diamond was on licence from prison when he carried out the gruesome murder of Christopher Hartley.

Christopher's aunt, Maureen Kinpriktzis, said: "Christopher was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is terrible to think someone could lose their life like that through no fault of their own.

"But at least justice has been done and I hope to God that they never ever let him out of prison.

"Christopher was a good lad and the hardest thing to accept is the way in which he died.

"I don't think that the family will ever be able to come to terms with what has happened despite what happened today.

"Diamond is a nasty, violent person and he got what he deserved."

The court heard how Diamond strangled his victim before cutting up the corpse in the bathroom of his Blackpool bedsit.

Pauline Costas, another of Christopher's aunts, said: "This has been a very hard year for the family.

"Christopher's sister Julie died last year and the family have had a lot to cope with. We are very close but things have been very difficult for us.

"Perhaps after this we can put Christopher to rest and try and get on with the rest of our lives."

She added: "Christopher used to come and stay with us all the time. He was a lovely lad and very easy to get on with.

"Nobody deserved this but at least justice has been done at last. Although we got justice I am not sure we will ever get over what has happened."

The jury took more than six hours to reach a decision after a seven-day trial.

But when they came back, the verdict of guilty was greeted by cheers of triumph from the packed public gallery at Preston Crown Court.

Friends and relatives broke down in tears as Judge Douglas Brown passed sentence. He told Diamond: "How you came to meet this vulnerable young man only you know.

"The evidence that you killed Christopher Hartley and then dismembered his body is quite overwhelming.

"What is particularly disturbing is that you killed a man who was a complete stranger to you."

The judge added: "The explanation for your actions may lie in the psychiatric reports from which it appears you made no secret of the fact that you fantasized about killing someone.

"It is clear that you are a very dangerous young man.

"I am not sure it will ever be safe for you to be released from prison."

Diamond said nothing as he was led away to prison.

Acting detective superintendent Paul Buschini, the man in charge of the investigation into the murder, said: "I am extremely satisfied our investigation was thorough and the evidence we put before the court was enough to convict Diamond.

"This is an extremely tragic case and I am very sorry that Christopher's family had to be put through all this."

The detective revealed over 100 officers had worked around the clock in an effort to find Christopher's remains.

Hours were spent trawling through rubbish dumps and waste disposal sites but mystery still surrounds the final resting place of Christopher's head.

Diamond fled to Ireland the day after the murder and was later extradited.

When police searched his flat they stumbled across the grisly evidence which eventually led to his conviction.

Traces of Christopher's blood were found in the flat and plumbing along with a bloody fingerprint belonging to Diamond.

Mr Buschini said: "Throughout our investigations, Diamond showed no remorse and made no admissions. I am not a psychiatrist and could not speculate about a motive."

Troubled teenager's army dream

CHRISTOPHER Hartley's dreams of joining the Army were never fulfilled.

Instead the teenager's life was cruelly cut short after he decided to leave Burnley to look for work in Blackpool.

Christopher was one of six children of Jean and Philip Hartley who then lived in Helston Close, on the Griffin estate.

A brother, Stephen, 23, and sister, Michelle, 22, live in Blackpool where Christopher went looking for work at the world famous Pleasure Beach and Golden Mile.

The couple's other surviving children are Joseph, 19, and Michael, ten.

Christopher had always nurtured an ambition to join the armed forces but in the summer of 1997 he decided to go to the holiday resort because he could not get work in the Burnley area.

He last spoke to his parents by telephone on Christmas Day, 1997, and was due to visit them on New Year's Day.

His Christmas present, a jacket, was waiting for him but he never arrived home.

Instead it was the police who arrived to break the dreadful news.

His whole family and friends throughout the area were devastated by the gruesome end to his short life.

Christopher who was described by a neighbour as 'a bit of a lad' who liked a drink and smoke and who probably got mixed up with the wrong crowd when he went to Blackpool. At the time of the tragedy, neighbour Mrs Jean Fallows said he was also friendly, willing to work and always ready to help others. She described him as a bonny young lad and a good looker.

A family friend and neighbour for 20 years, Mrs Fallows lived across from the Hartleys on the Bleak House estate until they moved to their new home at Griffin Park on the same day about 13 years ago when Christopher was five.

He spent his early school days at Myrtle Bank and Hargher Clough Primary School.

He later attended Tullyallan Special School, Darwen, but was permanently excluded by the head teacher.

At the funeral service at St Mark's Church, Rossendale Road, Burnley, his cousin Georgie described him as her best friend and a cool and calm lad.

Christopher's family called for February 12, the day of the funeral, to be remembered as a day of love.

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