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| Ripper-obsessed Colchester teen convicted of double murder | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A teenager described as having a fascination with the Yorkshire Ripper has been convicted of the 2014 murders of two strangers in Essex. | |
| James Fairweather, 17, was found guilty following a two-week trial. | |
| He had admitted the manslaughter of James Attfield and Nahid Almanea in Colchester, but denied murder on grounds of diminished responsibility. | |
| He said he was suffering from psychosis, but the court heard a psychiatrist cast doubt on the claims. | He said he was suffering from psychosis, but the court heard a psychiatrist cast doubt on the claims. |
| Guildford Crown Court heard Fairweather, of Colchester, had material at his home on Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper, as well as on Ipswich serial killer Steve Wright and US murderer Ted Bundy. | |
| Live reaction: Boy convicted of double murder | |
| Mr Attfield, 33, was stabbed more than 100 times. His body was found on the Riverside Path in Castle Park on 29 March. | |
| Ms Almanea, a 31-year-old student at the University of Essex, was stabbed on the Salary Brook Trail footpath on 17 June as she walked to the Wivenhoe campus from her accommodation in Woodrow Way. | |
| Steve Worron, Assistant Chief Constable of Essex Police, said: "Fairweather admitted killing James and Nahid, but denied their murder was calculated and pre-planned. | |
| "He then forced their families to endure the pain and grief of a trial rather than admitting he had murdered them. | |
| "Today's verdict will never heal the pain of losing their loved ones in such horrific circumstances. | |
| "Hopefully they now have some answers and can be reassured their killer will face a long time behind bars." | |
| Fairweather is awaiting sentence. |