Jail for killer who fled to Wales after torturing man to death

HOMOPHOBIC murderer filmed himself torturing his victim to death before fleeing by train to south Wales.

- BRANWEN JONES

Matthew Jonathan, 39, of no fixed abode, murdered 54-year-old Jamie Gawler in his home.

He has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 32 years after admitting murder.

The investigation began when Mr Gawler’s brother called the victim's mobile phone on January 18 this year.

The call was answered by a South Wales Police officer, who informed him that the phone had been found by police earlier that day at Porth railway station in Rhondda Cynon Taf.

West Mercia Police said Mr Gawler's brother was concerned for his sibling's welfare and went to his flat on Brierley Court in Hereford.

After entering the property, he found Mr Gawler’s body.

After discovering the mobile phone at Porth railway station, South Wales Police officers also found bank cards in the victim's name, as well as bank cards in the name of Matthew Jonathan.

A murder investigation was launched, with Jonathan becoming a suspect.

It was discovered that Jonathan, who is understood to have links to South Wales, had boarded a train for Cardiff with a friend, and then travelled to Porth, where he was later arrested outside Squares nightclub.

When he was interviewed, he denied having any part in Mr Gawler's death, claiming he had left him alive and was distraught that he was dead.