THE man who murdered a woman in her own home 32 years ago and tried to murder her elderly aunt has been given a life sentence.
Rickie Michael Tregaskis (53) was sentenced at the Royal Court for the brutal attack, which took place in the early hours of 2 August 1990 and involved him stabbing 59-year-old Barbara Griffin to death and attempting to murder her 85-year-old aunt Emma Anton.
Tregaskis was found guilty of murder and attempted murder by a jury following a two-week trial in May. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for his crimes – but will be eligible to apply for parole after 20 years.
He had broken into Mrs Griffin’s flat in the Le Geyt estate and stabbed Miss Anton six times before stabbing her niece in the heart, in an apparently motiveless attack. Miss Anton survived but Mrs Griffin died.
The court heard that Tregaskis had 139 previous criminal convictions dating back to 1982, many of them involving serious violence.
Solicitor General Matthew Jowitt, prosecuting, said: ‘He has a propensity for extreme, explosive and indeed lethal violence.’
Psychiatric reports showed that Tregaskis had ‘paranoid narcissism’ and ‘severe personality disorder’, he also said.
Tregaskis now suffers from multiple sclerosis and is confined to a wheelchair, and Advocate Rebecca Morley-Kirk, defending, read from a pre-sentence report which stated: ‘He may be unable to reside in a personality disorder unit. They are unable to accommodate his physical and mental needs.’
It was the second time he had stood trial there for the crimes, after originally being put on trial in 1991. He previously walked free from court after key witnesses failed to come forward and give evidence.
