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| Addict jailed for student murder | Addict jailed for student murder |
| (41 minutes later) | |
| A 31-year-old man has been jailed for life for stabbing a student to death while burgling a house in Leeds. | |
| Leeds Crown Court heard how heroin addict, Gareth Brear, stabbed 20-year-old Joe Cook, from Newcastle, 15 times with a kitchen knife last August. | Leeds Crown Court heard how heroin addict, Gareth Brear, stabbed 20-year-old Joe Cook, from Newcastle, 15 times with a kitchen knife last August. |
| Brear was jailed for a minimum of 26 years after pleading guilty to murder. | Brear was jailed for a minimum of 26 years after pleading guilty to murder. |
| The court was told he ransacked Mr Cook's student house on Ebberston Terrace in the Hyde Park area of Leeds before making off with a BMX bike. | The court was told he ransacked Mr Cook's student house on Ebberston Terrace in the Hyde Park area of Leeds before making off with a BMX bike. |
| He later sold the bike for £10. | |
| The court heard how Brear, high on drink and drugs, entered the house through a basement window. | |
| 'Gentle Joe' | |
| Graham Hyland QC, prosecuting, said Mr Cook, who was alone in the six-bedroom house, sent a friend a text message saying: "There's someone in the house". | |
| He said a confrontation took place: "When I say confrontation, I mean that the defendant confronted the defenceless Mr Cook." | |
| Joe Cook was described as 'universally liked and loved' | |
| Mr Cook's body was found the following day on the bed in his first-floor bedroom. | Mr Cook's body was found the following day on the bed in his first-floor bedroom. |
| Almost a month after the murder Brear, from Leeds, was arrested when staff at a homeless project in the city became suspicious when he repeatedly mentioned the murder to a support worker. | |
| A statement from the victim's parents, Lesley and Nick, was read out in court. | A statement from the victim's parents, Lesley and Nick, was read out in court. |
| "Joe was not in the wrong place, at the wrong time," it read. | "Joe was not in the wrong place, at the wrong time," it read. |
| "He was in the right place, in his bed, in his room, in his student house. He should have been safe. | "He was in the right place, in his bed, in his room, in his student house. He should have been safe. |
| "Joe never knew violence, he had never been in a fight. Joe could offer no provocation, he had no defence. | "Joe never knew violence, he had never been in a fight. Joe could offer no provocation, he had no defence. |
| "Our gentle Joe had no hope against a murderer determined to stab him to death. | "Our gentle Joe had no hope against a murderer determined to stab him to death. |
| "Joe's murderer did not bungle a burglary, he chose to discard Joe's life, then continue with his work." | "Joe's murderer did not bungle a burglary, he chose to discard Joe's life, then continue with his work." |