Young woman murdered in Argoed, attacker killed by police taser

[shygirl]

7 November 2014 Last updated at 13:00

Cerys Marie Yemm named as Argoed hotel cannibal murder victim

Officers found Matthew Williams attacking Cerys Yemm at the hotel
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The woman who was murdered in an act of cannibalism has been named as Cerys Marie Yemm.
Officers found Matthew Williams, 34, attacking the 22-year-old in the Sirhowy Arms Hotel, a halfway house for ex offenders in Argoed, a village near Ms Yemm's hometown of Blackwood.
He was stunned with a Taser and arrested at the scene during the early hours of Thursday but later died.
Williams had only recently been released from prison.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is probing his death.
Gwent Police said Williams was local to the area and the woman was from Blackwood.
The pair are believed to have been in a relationship and the force said it is not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.
Gareth Griffiths, who lives in Argoed, told BBC Radio 5 Live: "It's not a massive village, everyone wants to know what's happened. Everyone who doesn't want the place to be there thinks it's ammunition to use against the council to get it moved or shifted.
"We hear on the news that it has been cannibalism. Nobody wants to hear that, it must be a horrific way to die, it's horrible, it's unbearable."

The cordon has been scaled back, but police remained at the scene on Friday

Flowers have been left outside the hotel where the victim was killed
'Grotesque'
The property where the murder took place is used as temporary accommodation for homeless people.
IPCC Commissioner for Wales, Jan Williams, said: "I would like to express my sincere condolences to the families of the deceased at this sad and difficult time.
"Our investigators are gathering all relevant evidence to understand the full circumstances of what happened."
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Forensic teams have been searching for clues at Sirhowy Arms Hotel in Argoed

BBC Wales reporter Stephen Fairclough in Argoed
People living in the small village of Argoed just north of the town of Blackwood have reacted to the disturbing events at the hotel with shock and disbelief.
The three-storey building where Williams is believed to have murdered the young woman sits in the middle of the village and the centre was a hive of police activity on Thursday as the investigation got under way.
One resident said the murder "is hard to believe in a small, quiet community village like this".
Another described the police scenes as "chaotic" with emergency services vehicles "everywhere".
One woman said: "It's all very upsetting."
Leon Gardiner, a councillor who has lived in the village for more than 80 years, said the killing has "hit the village for six".

Argoed councillor Garry Lewis described the nature of the killing as "grotesque".
Argoed Baptist Chapel secretary June Trace told BBC Wales that the Sirhowy Arms was converted into accommodation for vulnerable people several years ago.
She said it had a "fluctuating population" of people, often aged in their 30s or 40s, who would stay there for a time before moving on.
Despite concerns of some villagers when the plans were first put forward to convert the building, she said there had never been any trouble there.
However, other people living in Argoed said there had been issues at the hostel and police had been called to resolve problems there frequently.

More on This Story

 

[shygirl]

RIP Cerys Yemm. Its unbearable to contemplate what this young woman endured at the hands of this beast.

 

[Gavin Bl]

just dreadful, poor girl

 

[1927]

He obviously had serious issues. How the hell were these not assessed while he was in prison?

 

[Geri]

At least the scumbag is gone, saves the expense of locking him up forever.

 

[emanymton]

It seems that this guy was pretty vile, but let's not ignore the fact that the police have just kill another person with a taser.

 

[ginger_syn]

while you are right to bring up that point, I think if I'd been the policewoman who walked in on what he was doing I would have shocked the he'll out of him to. I feel so sorry for all those touched by this hideous act.

 

[davesgcr]

It seems that this guy was pretty vile, but let's not ignore the fact that the police have just kill another person with a taser.

So what should they have done - take him away for a reflective cup of tea. ? , and a quiet chat. The Police have a duty to protect the public. The fact he died from a taser is one thing - but he was not exactly being a good citizen was he...?

 

[Geri]

I read somethere that it was a lone female officer who was first on the scene, if so she would have been at a huge disadvantage physically. The attacker was a drug user so may well have had a weakened heart.

 

[maomao]

If he was in the middle of mutilating/eating someone and if the first officer there didn't know whether the victim was dead or alive then tasering seems a fair enough course of action IMO. And given that mephedrone has documented effects on the circulatory system then I'm not that keen on jumping on this one as police brutality.

 

[Pickman's model]

So what should they have done - take him away for a reflective cup of tea. ? , and a quiet chat. The Police have a duty to protect the public. The fact he died from a taser is one thing - but he was not exactly being a good citizen was he...?

when does someone stop being a member of the public? when did the police get the right to kill nasty people?

 

[emanymton]

It is not just about the individual office involved, but if the police didn't have teasers they could not go around killing, and in some cases torturing, people with them. I may not always like it but we have a system whereby people are arrested and a court decides the guilt or innocence and the appropriate punishment.

ETA: This is another case of a teaser being lethal, and the police are using these horrible things on inocent people and in completely inappropriate situations.

 

[dylanredefined]

when does someone stop being a member of the public? when did the police get the right to kill nasty people?

Since we had police lethal violence has always been an option for them. Now at least there are guidelines for when they use weapons. They make some stupid mistakes and need to be held a lot more accountable when they get things wrong.

 

[1927]

It is not just about the individual office involved, but if the police didn't have teasers they could not go around killing, and in some cases torturing, people with them. I may not always like it but we have a system whereby people are arrested and a court decides the guilt or innocence and the appropriate punishment.

ETA: This is another case of a teaser being lethal, and the police are using these horrible things on inocent people and in completely inappropriate situations.

Without the taser the lone police woman might just have been dessert!

 

[Pickman's model]

Since we had police lethal violence has always been an option for them. Now at least there are guidelines for when they use weapons. They make some stupid mistakes and need to be held a lot more accountable when they get things wrong.

perhaps we should remove the option of lethal force from them pending the disbanding of these most partial forces

 

[Spymaster]

when does someone stop being a member of the public?

When he starts eating someone else.

when did the police get the right to kill nasty people?

They've always had the right to kill people in self defence or the defence of others. Everyone has.

 

[Pickman's model]

Without the taser the lone police woman might just have been dessert!

and that would have been really bad

 

[Pickman's model]

When he starts eating someone else.

not in fact true

They've always had the right to kill people in self defence or the defence of others. Everyone has.

so what's their excuse for the 99% of people they kill where that doesn't apply?

 

[1927]

and that would have been really bad

Well it would have put a bit of a downer on her day!

 

[Spymaster]

so what's their excuse for the 99% of people they kill where that doesn't apply?

Varying.

 

[dylanredefined]

perhaps we should remove the option of lethal force from them pending the disbanding of these most partial forces

Whose going to stop people like this then? If not the police?
Considering the number of people who are happy to be violent arseholes. Tasers are great weapons they are less than
lethal coppers should only use them as a last resort though and justify each use.

 

[Pickman's model]

Whose going to stop people like this then? If not the police?
Considering the number of people who are happy to be violent arseholes. Tasers are great weapons they are less than
lethal coppers should only use them as a last resort though and justify each use.

by less than lethal do you mean they can't in fact kill?

 

[ddraig]

not in fact true


so what's their excuse for the 99% of people they kill where that doesn't apply?

this bascialy
if they only used against cannibals then maybe fair enough but we know full well they don't

 

[ginger_syn]

true, but what would you have done if you'd been there. because I know I would have done exactly the same as that policewoman, what she saw would cut straight through any thought of reasonable force to a gut reaction to stop the horror in front of you because no amount of. police training could prepare you for that sight.

 

[Dr_Herbz]

perhaps we should remove the option of lethal force from them pending the disbanding of these most partial forces

How about removing fuckwits from the police force, rather than removing their ability to deal with a specific situation in an appropriate manner?

 

[Pickman's model]

How about removing fuckwits from the police force, rather than removing their ability to deal with a specific situation in an appropriate manner?

interesting. so you'd disband the force immediately.

 

[Dr_Herbz]

interesting. so you'd disband the force immediately.

Good point... I guess it was akin to asking for dry rain...

 

[Citizen66]

According to one report I read he used a drug that made him 'see things'. I'm finding it very difficult to muster up any sympathy for him. He's got previous for knocking women about. But it does call into question the claim that tasering people is a safe way of incapacitating them.

RIP Cerys.

 

[maomao]

he used a drug that made him 'see things'.

If it was mephedrone it's well known that that it fucks your circulation. Lots of people ended up with blue knees when they took too much of that.

 

[Spymaster]

According to one report I read he used a drug that made him 'see things'. I'm finding it very difficult to muster up any sympathy for him. He's got previous for knocking women about.

Why would anyone want to muster up any sympathy for this fucker?

I know this is U75, home of the libertarian hand-wringer, but Christ, he killed and scoffed a woman and apparently was still in the act when the police woman arrived.

But it does call into question the claim that tasering people is a safe way of incapacitating them.

There probably isn't a completely "safe" way to incapacitate someone.

Given that there is occasionally a legitimate need for coppers to restrain people with extreme, non-lethal force, and that the vast majority of folk that are tasered don't actually die, I fully support its use in this case where by some accounts the police woman who used it would quite likely have become a victim too had she not had one.

If there had been an armed response and the first cop on the scene had shot the bastard dead that would have been legitimate too, but there'd be twats on here banging on about "police murderers".

The real failure in the system is not in the use of the taser but in the flawed processes that allowed the cunt out of prison in the first place.

My sympathies are with the victim and the police woman.