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Jamie Skinner jailed for life for murdering father-of-five at Plymouth railway station

A man who stabbed a father-of-five to death in a busy railway station concourse has been jailed for life.

Jamie Skinner (pictured above), 29, murdered Wayne Fenton, 49, by stabbing him 40 times during the attack at Plymouth railway station on August 8.

He chased his victim into a crowded ticket hall and slashed him repeatedly with a Stanley knife.

He pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life in prison at Plymouth Crown Court on Monday with a minimum of 22 years and six months.

Judge Paul Darlow said it was a ‘sustained, merciless, vicious attack’.

The attack was captured on CCTV and footage was shown in court of Skinner, from Bodmin Road, Plymouth, attacking Mr Fenton in front of terrified commuters.

Mr Fenton suffered about 40 knife injuries and was stabbed in the head with such force that the tip of the blade was lodged in his skull.

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Railway worker John Phare grabbed Skinner and pulled him to the ground where colleagues and members of the public detained him.

Mr Fenton, who Skinner had treated as ‘a father figure’, was taken to hospital but died within an hour from massive blood loss from 40 wounds, 17 of them major.

At the time of the murder, Mr Fenton had been home on leave from prison where he was serving eight years for drugs trafficking.

Jamie Skinner, left, stabbed Wayne Fenton, right, to death (Picture: SWNS)
Jamie Skinner, left, stabbed Wayne Fenton, right, to death (Picture: SWNS)

Skinner gave him a lift to the station to return to jail in Wales but the two men argued during the car journey.

Skinner later told police that Mr Fenton had threatened to kill his mother.

Prosecuting, Adam Vaitilingam said Skinner began the attack as they walked from the car park towards the station.

He started stabbing his friend around the chest, neck and head in a ‘frenzy’.

Judge Paul Darlow told Skinner: ‘This was a sustained, merciless and vicious attack on a defenceless man.’

Defending, Richard Smith QC said the murder was not planned, or else Skinner would not have chosen to launch his attack in such a public place.

He said: ‘This was a man who in the emotion of moment lost his mind in the way that he did.’

Commuters at Plymouth railway station witnessed the attack (Picture: SWNS)
Commuters at Plymouth railway station witnessed the attack (Picture: SWNS)

Mr Fenton’s partner, Soraya Hester, mother of his two youngest children, aged five and six, said in a statement: ‘I cannot put into words the loss and the pain I feel and the way he suffered in those final moments. This will haunt me for the rest of my life.

‘The children do not know how their daddy died. How do I tell them what happened to their hero?

‘We worked so hard for the last four years waiting to be reunited.

‘I will never get to marry the man that I loved. I will tell them every day how much their daddy loves them and how proud he was to be their daddy.

‘Jamie Skinner has taken so much from us that it is almost impossible to put into words.’

Detective Chief Inspector Paul Langley, of British Transport Police, said: ‘This was a horrific and senseless attack on a father in broad daylight.

‘Wayne’s murder will have a lasting effect on his family and loved ones and no doubt the members of the public and staff that were present at the station.’