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| Margate gay flatmate hammer attacker jailed | Margate gay flatmate hammer attacker jailed |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A man who tried to murder his gay flatmate in a hammer attack while he slept has been jailed for 14 years. | A man who tried to murder his gay flatmate in a hammer attack while he slept has been jailed for 14 years. |
| Connor Huntley, 18, was found alive on his bed, but with the claw hammer embedded in his head in May last year. | |
| Joseph Williams, 21, of Cliftonville, Margate, had made disparaging remarks about gay men, the Old Bailey was told. | Joseph Williams, 21, of Cliftonville, Margate, had made disparaging remarks about gay men, the Old Bailey was told. |
| Williams, who denied attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent, will be detained in a secure hospital under the Mental Health Act. | Williams, who denied attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent, will be detained in a secure hospital under the Mental Health Act. |
| Prosecuting, Philip Bennetts QC said there were at least two blows with the hammer. | Prosecuting, Philip Bennetts QC said there were at least two blows with the hammer. |
| Penetrating brain injury | |
| Williams dialled 999 and told police he thought he had killed Mr Huntley. Officers found the victim on a blood-spattered inflatable airbed at the flat in Athelstan Road. | |
| He was taken to hospital with severe head injuries and treated for a depressed skull fracture and a penetrating brain injury, but was left brain damaged. | He was taken to hospital with severe head injuries and treated for a depressed skull fracture and a penetrating brain injury, but was left brain damaged. |
| Mr Bennetts told the court the pair were "not the obvious flatmates" but had been put together by the landlord of the flat. | Mr Bennetts told the court the pair were "not the obvious flatmates" but had been put together by the landlord of the flat. |
| He said that just a week before the attack, the defendant told his neighbour, who was a friend of Mr Huntley's, that he did not know if he could live with him because he would end up hitting him. | He said that just a week before the attack, the defendant told his neighbour, who was a friend of Mr Huntley's, that he did not know if he could live with him because he would end up hitting him. |
| While being interviewed by Kent Police, Williams gave no reasons as to why he attacked Mr Huntley. | |
| 'Hideous act' | |
| Det Insp Richard Vickery said: "It is only due to the skills of medical staff that Connor is alive today. | |
| "Connor has suffered life-changing injuries and I hope that today's verdict will assist him and his family to move forward and concentrate on improving his quality of life, both physically and psychologically." | |
| A family statement said: 'Whilst Connor is making slow but steady progress from this horrific ordeal, we feel he has been handed his own life sentence by this hideous act. | |
| "No-one deserves to be so viciously attacked in such an evil manner, regardless of race, age, gender or sexuality." |