Harley must serve a minimum of 24 years for the torture and murder of David Gaut, 54, just released from prison after 33 years for baby murder
Last CCTV picture (above) of David Gaut
Ieuan Harley, 33, was jailed for life and told he must serve a minimum of 24 years at Newport Crown Court today for stabbing a child killer to death who had murdered a 17-month-old baby boy.
Child killer David Gaut was stabbed 176 times in the attack in New Tredegar, Caerphilly, last August. Gaut served 33 years for murdering the little boy and was freed in 2017 and moved to New Tredegar, Gwent, after being released from prison.
He lied to neighbours about what he has served time for, telling them he had murdered a soldier, but locals found out the truth after searching for information about the case on the internet.
Ieuan Harley, 33, who was jailed for life and told he must serve a minimum of 24 years at Newport Crown Court today
Harley was disgusted by what Gaut had done and became a self-styled vigilante, repeatedly stabbing Gaut with a knife and screwdriver before mutilating his body. Harley was convicted of murder and perverting the course of justice.
Gaut had moved into a flat next door to Harley’s friend David Osborne in the village of New Tredegar after being released from prison. Gaut was then lured to Osborne’s house on the pretence of borrowing a DVD where he was viciously murdered by Harley.
David Osbourne, 51, who was jailed for two years and four months for helping killer Ieuan Harley move the body of the victim and dispose of evidence.
David Osborne, 51, an alcoholic with a “low IQ”, and Darran Evesham, 47, helped Harley move the body and dispose of evidence. Evesham, from New Tredegar, was found guilty of perverting the course of justice, while Osborne, of Elliots Town, was cleared of murder after he had admitted perverting the course of justice. Evesham was jailed for three and a half years while Osborne was given two years and four months.
Darran Evesham, 47, who was jailed for three-and-a-half years for perverting the course of justice
A victim impact statement read out on behalf of Gaut’s mother, Phyllis Gaut said: “To some people he was a monster, but to me he was my son and I loved him.”
In 1985, Gaut, then 21, was sentenced to 32 years after being found guilty of torturing and killing 17-month-old Chi Ming Shek by fracturing his skull. The child, known as Marky, also had a broken arm, lacerated liver and torn spleen after being beaten and burned.
17-month-old Chi Ming Shek, known as Marky, the victim of child killer David Gaut. ‘Marky’ died from a fractured skull and also had a broken arm, lacerated liver and torn spleen after being tortured, beaten and burned
Harley’s actions were described as “savage” and “brutal”, as the court heard he had a number of violent convictions to his name. Prosecutor Ben Douglas-Jones QC said Harley also had history of attacking men he believed were child abusers, after previously strangling and gouging the eye of a disabled man he had wrongly believed to be a “nonce”.
The judge, Mr Justice Lewis, said Gaut had experienced “real suffering” at Harley’s hands before he was “brutally” murdered and mutilated after his death.”You wanted to make him suffer, and you did before finally killing him,” he said.
Last CCTV pictures of child killer David Gaut wearing a white shirt, blue jeans and dark jacket, buying a ticket at Caerphilly railway station at around 11.40am on August 2 last year
Detective Superintendent Judith Roberts, Gwent Police’s Senior Investigating Officer in the case, said: “The shocking level of violence inflicted upon David Gaut – both before and after he died – is reflected in the prison sentence handed down to Ieuan Harley today.
“David’s past conviction and prison sentence attracted significant media and public interest; however, this did not distract us from the focus of our investigation, which was to identify who was responsible for his death and bring them to justice.
“Although this was an isolated crime, it is understandable such an act of violence can cause fear and concern in any local community. I would like to thank the residents of New Tredegar for their co-operation, support and understanding during this investigation and reassure them that the local neighbourhood policing team are working closely with other agencies to keep them safe.”
Finally, I would like to pay my respects to David’s family, who in the past eight months have had to come to terms with his death and re-live events of the past, in which they played no part. I hope they will now be given privacy and the opportunity to move forward with their lives.”
