A man who murdered a 50-year-old from Radstock has been given a life sentence.

The jury found Meshach Caven-Thompson guilty of murdering Philip Jones at a flat in Huish Court, Writhlington, a Radstock suburb, in the early hours of June 16, 2018.  

The 33-year-old, who declined to give evidence earlier in the trial, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

He previously told police that three masked men, one armed with a machete, entered Mr Jones' flat, and demanded drugs.


Mr Jones was pronounced dead at the scene at  3.19am on Saturday, June 16. The trial previously heard he suffered 19 stab wounds before dying.

This concluded a two-week long trial at Bristol Crown Court on Monday (May 13).

The judge gives his verdict:

Judge Peter Blair said: "You were convicted by a jury following a trial that lasted 10 days.

"The first day of the trial was called off as you did not get the medication for a minor skin complaint and you did not show up.

"This trial should have been dealt with many months ago but the changes you demanded for your legal representation has come at a huge public expense and has made this even worse for the victim's family and friends.

"Philip Jones was described as a quiet man who kept out of trouble and he would give you his last pound if you needed it.

"He had been a good friend to many and was much-loved by his community."

He said it is unlikely that this sentence will provide enough comfort to his family who have been 'torn apart' by the 'horrid' act.

The judge continued: "This murder involved a knife which was used repeatedly to stab and slash at the neck of Philip Jones. This is further aggravated because he was a vulnerable adult.

"It took place at his home which is a place where he should feel safe from those who commit crimes like this.

"Having killed him you did all you could to put an elaborate story together.

"You will serve a life sentence with a minimum of 21 years in prison."

Police presence around Huish Court, after a man died from serious injuries at a property

The timeline of what happened:

The court heard how Caven-Thompson travelled down from London to Bath, to see a friend called Ziggy Dawkins, and then to Mr Jones’ property near Radstock on June 15, 2018.

In a statement from Jilly Dean Dawkins, Ziggy’s wife, she said that Caven-Thompson arrived shortly after 9.50pm. She herself had returned from a ‘school function’ at a similar time.

Mrs Dawkins said that unlike Caven-Thompson’s previous visits, where he stayed for a long time, this time he was ‘eager to leave’. This, to her, was very unusual as he would often stay and eat there but he declined the offer.

She said he left no later than 10.15pm.

The family of Phillip Jones say they feel that the village turned their back on them
An old photo of Phillip Jones, who died after suffering multiple stab wounds

Previously, the court was told by Dr Amanda Jeffery, a Home Office registered forensic pathologist, that Mr Jones suffered 19 stab wounds before dying.

At 2.32am on that day, Caven-Thompson rang 999 and spoke to a police operator.

In that call, he said he had just finished going to the toilet in Mr Jones’ flat when three masked men, one armed with a machete, entered the flat. He said he saw this as the bathroom door was slightly ajar.

Caven-Thompson, who said his phone battery was about to die during the 999 call, claims the men were demanding to know ‘where the drugs were’. The ‘panic-stricken’ defendant then ran out of the flat and said he was very briefly chased.

Forensics continued to be part of the police investigation on Monday, June 18
Forensics continued to be part of the police investigation on Monday, June 18. Here they were seen entering number 24, Huish Court

When the police operator asked another question, Caven-Thompson, who had known Mr Jones for 6-7 years, said his phone had died.

Mr Vaitilingam said an ‘agreed fact’ was that Caven-Thompson was seen at 3.17am near Warminster travelling south-east.

Forty minutes later he was heading away from Salisbury. He was then seen  travelling towards London via Andover.

Caven-Thompson was first spotted in Hounslow in London before he travelled to Richmond, Wandsworth, Camberwell Green and Brixton Hill.

Judge Blair said in his summary that it was ‘enormously significant’ that the clothes Caven-Thompson was wearing on the night of the murder were never found.

“The prosecution says he must know what he did with them (the clothes),” he said.

“His brother’s house was searched, his mother’s house was searched but his uncle’s house (a place he had visited earlier that week) was not.

“The defence argues that it is not for the defendant to prove their innocence.

“The prosecution says it is safe to say that he did not want his clothes examined.

“He discarded them for a reason because it would reveal his presence at the flat when Mr Jones was murdered.”

The judge continued, saying that the prosecution did not accept that he was truthful in that 999 call and that calling the police was a ‘very clever thing to do’.

Meshach Caven-Thompson, 32, from Bath, will appear at Bath Magistrates Court this morning after being charged with the murder of Philip Jones
Meshach Caven-Thompson, 32, has been found guilty of murder by the jury

“He couldn’t be sure that he would not have been seen. The question you (the jury) need to ask yourselves is why did he not contact the police until 15-20 minutes later,” said the judge.

“If he is indeed in mortal danger, where three men are wielding lethal weapons, why not call straight away?

“The prosecution says he was constructing a clever story about a gang of murderers.

“The defence strongly challenges that theory. No murderer would call the police, it is a ridiculous proposition. If the defendant was the murderer he would not have called the police at the scene.”

The judge then asked the jury why it took so long for the accused to travel in his car from Radstock to Warminster in the early hours of June 16.

“An automatic number plate recognition camera (ANPR) was triggered near Warminster at 3.17am in the morning,” said the judge.

“Why was it that he reached Warminster until 3.17am? That means he left (near Radstock) at 2.15am. How has it taken him an hour to get from Radstock to Warminster?”

“In that time was Caven-Thompson getting rid of the blood-stained clothing?

Radstock is approximately 16 miles away from Warminster. A typical journey between the two, according to Google Maps, would be around 30 minutes.

Scientists examine the evidence:

The court then heard abridged versions of what forensic pathologist, Dr Jeffery, and forensic scientist, Dr Jane Roughley, relayed earlier in the trial.

When Dr Jeffery inspected the flat at 1pm on June 16, there were heavy blood stains on Mr Jones’ head, neck and hands. Knife wounds on his wrist, neck and ear were visible. 

Phillip Jones was found dead on 16 June in Huish Court, Writhlington

She said he died from the stab wounds and her findings suggested that the attack was from ‘one angle’ and from ‘one person’. However, there was not conclusive evidence to prove this.

Dr Roughley said nothing from the blood patterns found can determine the type of weapon used and there is no evidence that a clean-up of the property (by the defendant) was carried out.

The defendant’s black Armani shirt had a contact blood stain, not visible to the human eye, which had the DNA of Mr Jones. There was DNA in his room from more than one individual.

Dr Roughley concluded that there was insufficient evidence to show Caven-Thompson was involved in the assault.

The court heard how Martin Beale went to Huish Court on June 26 and used the chemical Luminol to find non-visible blood.

If blood is found, it emits a blue and green glow when ultra-violet light is shone on it.

After a thorough investigation, no blood was found in the car and there was not enough evidence to incriminate the accused either.

The Judge quoted Mr Heslop’s earlier remarks, saying: “Surely you would expect to see some of his blood in the car or something else in his fingernails if he was involved in the murderous assault?”

“You cannot reach a sure conclusion from that circumstantial evidence that he was in this murderous assault.”

Sequence of events was an 'elaborate pantomime':

The judge then said Byron Dawkins, Ziggy’s father, was in Brixton on June 16 and whilst he was calling his son, the defendant pulled up in a car.

In Byron’s statement, he said Caven-Thompson claimed he did not know Mr Jones had died.

He then told Byron that three masked men armed with weapons came into the flat and out of fear, he ran from the flat.

Ziggy said that he did not understand why the Caven-Thompson ran away and why he did not phone him.

Later that day (June 16), the judge said an ‘elaborate pantomime’ took place at Tollgate Services, Gravesend, in Kent.

Bristol Crown Court
The trial is taking place at Bristol Crown Court

Police said Caven-Thompson arrived at the services in a white Citreon hire car, in the name of his brother.

The defendant was seen going in and out of the services several times, including going to the toilet, withdrawing cash and spending money.

He then approached two police officers asking if they could take him to London.

One of the police officers said when they got out of the police car, she noticed Caven-Thompson was looking at her and came across as agitated.

She said how he did not want to tell them his name or anything about himself, only that ‘he was in danger’ and that ‘someone was after him.’

He refused their offer to take him to a taxi rank, at first, but then accepted their proposition. He was described as being ‘erratic’ and ‘boisterous’.

Caven-Thompson then said he had escaped from a car that had numerous people inside.

“Was he trying to reinforce this line that he was sticking to?” said the judge.

The defendant was then arrested in London just after 2pm on Sunday, June 17.

A camera was activated in Wandsworth that recognised his green Fiat’s number plate and that alerted the police as to his whereabouts.

He was transferred to Keynsham Police Station, as the incident took place in the Avon and Somerset area.

In addition to his account about the masked men and him fleeing the flat, he said he had previously showered at the property and that is why some of his clothes were left there that night.

Interviews with the police:

In a follow-up police interview, Caven-Thompson said the masked man armed with a machete was someone called Cory Hassan – a man who attended Fairfield Business School in Croydon with him.

The court heard Cory Hassan was allegedly part of a London gang.

Caven-Thompson said he was paranoid about Mr Hassan following him and knowing his whereabouts.

Caven-Thompson accused Mr Hassan of carrying out the crime.

At first, the defendant said one of the three men, who he claims entered the flat, was Mr Jones’ neighbour, Ellis Goddard.

Police had found Mr Goddard at around 3am with Mr Jones’ black dog.

After Mr Goddard was released from custody, Caven-Thompson accused Mr Hassan of committing the crime.

“He (Mr Hassan ) tried to latch onto me, the teachers will tell you this,” said Caven-Thompson to the police.

“All his friends were in the other class, not mine. He moved to my class. The tutors will tell you this.”

The judge said the defendant claimed that he moved out of the hostel he was staying in because of Mr Hassan.

He later said that ‘he just knew he (Mr Hassan) had a machete before declining to comment further.

Two of his lecturers, who taught him at the business school, said they knew that Cory and the defendant were in the same class.

Both said it seemed there were no problems between the two.

The judge's extensive summary of the trial:

Before the jury came to their verdict, on Friday Judge Peter Blair gave a summary of what had occurred in the two-week long murder trial.

“The prosecution says that the defendant was a participant in the murder of Philip Jones, there was blood on his shirt, he discarded his clothes and that he fled to London,” said the judge.

“He knew about Cory and his connections. They say what chance would there have been that he (Mr Hassan) was in that part of deepest Somerset and that he and his gang, with murderous intent, came to kill a small-time drug dealer?”

The judge then summarised the view of the defence counsel, Martin Heslop.

“The defence say that he was not involved in this at all. They say there is no motive for this. People don’t just kill people in this brutal way without a reason,” he said.

“No one suggests why things might have erupted. They say where is the evidence that he cleaned himself up? How does that point to Meshach Caven-Thompson? There is DNA from other people.

“Why does he need to give evidence when there is no evidence against him? The defence say there is no clear case against him.

“There is no evidence of motive, the blood found on his t-shirt may raise suspicion but nothing more.

“Where are the clothes? How can the car (green Fiat) be so clean if he was involved in the murder?” 


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