'Brutal' builder who battered and stabbed his ex-girlfriend's father to death before burning him in petrol to try and destroy the evidence jailed for 27 years

  • James Carbott battered and stabbed Thomas Baird to death
  • The 31-year-old torched the corpse and set his home on fire
  • The pair had rowed over electrical work undertaken by Carbott

By Sam Webb

PUBLISHED: 08:48 EST, 27 March 2014 | UPDATED: 12:02 EST, 27 March 2014


A builder who battered and stabbed his ex-girlfriend’s father and then poured petrol over him before setting him alight was today jailed for a minimum of 27 years for his murder.

James Carbott, 31, beat Thomas Baird with a crowbar and stabbed him with a retractable blade knife inside his bungalow in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire.

He left, but returned to destroy evidence by dousing petrol on 63-year-old Mr Baird, who was lying on his doorstep and was either dead or dying. He set his body and the victim’s bungalow alight.

James Carbott, 31, beat Thomas Baird with a crowbar and stabbed him with a retractable blade knife inside his bungalow. He later set the body alight
Thomas Baird was murdered after rowing with Carbott

James Carbott, 31, beat Thomas Baird with a crowbar and stabbed him with a retractable blade knife inside his bungalow. He later set the body alight. He was today jailed for a minimum of 27 years

Sentencing him to life at St Albans Crown Court, Judge Andrew Bright QC said: 'Your attack was brutal and relentless.'

The jury heard Carbott had split up from Mr Baird’s daughter Kelly in October 2012, five months before the killing.

When Carbott, who had worked as a builder for Mr Baird, moved in with Kelly he had diverted the electricity supply, so that it bypassed the meter.

 

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After he left, Mr Baird wanted him to correct the wiring. Carbott promised to meet Mr Baird on the Tuesday before he died, but rang to cancel.

He was then supposed to call him on the Thursday, but did not.

Prosecutor Stuart Trimmer said the defendant’s behaviour seriously annoyed Mr Baird, who spoke to friends and relatives and threatened violence to Carbott and said he would damage the home where he lived with his mother.

Scene: The bungalow in Hemel Hempstead where Mr Baird was killed and set on fire

Scene: The bungalow in Hemel Hempstead where Mr Baird was killed and set on fire

In response to voicemail messages left by Mr Baird, Carbott went to his terraced bungalow in Westerdale.

There he attacked Mr Baird, who was only 5 feet 6 tall and weighed just 66 kilos, with the knife and crowbar before setting him alight.

A post mortem examination revealed 17 cuts and stab wounds to the head, face and neck. There were also stab penetrations fracturing the jaw.

His voice box was fractured, a wound that may have been caused by severe gripping, but is more likely to have been due to kicking or stamping while on the ground.

Carbott was arrested the following day and told the police: 'What's this got to do with me? I haven't been anywhere'

Carbott was arrested the following day and told the police: 'What's this got to do with me? I haven't been anywhere'

Pathologist Dr Nat Carey found internal bleeding in the brain and evidence of blunt impacts, including one very forceful blow to the right side, causing fracturing of the vault and base of the skull.

There was burning to his head, trunk and legs. A lack of soot inhalation suggested Mr Baird was either dead or dying at the time he was set alight.

Carbott was arrested at ten to five the following day and told the police: 'What’s this got to do with me? I haven’t been anywhere.

'All I have done is walk my dog. I have been at my mum’s.'

He made no comment in four police interviews, but gave the officers a prepared statement through his solicitor in which he said Mr Baird had left threats to him and his mother on his voicemail.

He said he did not want him threatening his mother and went to Mr Baird’s home. When he went to the door he said Mr Baird appeared with a crowbar and a knife and said: 'J - have this' and pushed the knife towards him.

He said there was a struggle in which he disarmed him and caused injuries. In the statement Carbott admitted he had started the fire because he was scared.

He said he had left the scene in his silver Mondeo estate and headed to a farm track on the Redbourn Road near Woodend Farm where he burned his clothes and the petrol and threw the knife and crow bar in a ditch.

Carbott, of Epping Green, Hemel Hempstead, pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Baird between Friday 1 March and Saturday 2 March last year and also denied arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered.

But at the end of a trial last month the jury of eight men and four women convicted him of murder by a majority of 10 to 2. They unanimously convicted him of the arson charge.

Giving evidence Carbott said Mr Baird was a 'good laugh'. Asked by his barrister Richard Carey-Hughes how they got on, he replied: 'Fine. We used to got out drinking, watch football and go to the pub. He was a good laugh. He was OK.'

He said he suffered anxiety and depression after being attacked in 2007. He had also been diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder. 'I had suicidal thoughts. I used to self-harm a lot. I was always planning in my head to kill myself,' he said.

A post-mortem examination revealed 17 cuts and stab wounds to Mr Baird's head, face and neck. There were also stab penetrations fracturing the jaw

A post-mortem examination revealed 17 cuts and stab wounds to Mr Baird's head, face and neck. There were also stab penetrations fracturing the jaw

He said he had known Mr Baird for two years before he died and had been 'best friends' with his son Tommy Baird.

But Tommy did not speak to him again after Carbott had hit him when he intervened during a row Tommy was having with his sister.

After Mr Baird died and he was remanded in custody, Carbott said he had nightmares and flashbacks. 'I was waking up screaming. It was terrifying,' he said.

Setting a minimum term of 27 years before Carbott can apply for parole, Judge Bright told Carbott, who appeared for sentence via a video link from Bedford jail: 'When you lose your temper, as you did that night, you are a very dangerous man.'

Following the sentencing today the victim's family and the police have released statements.

Thomas' daughter, Kelly, said: 'Myself and Harry would like to send thanks to all those who have been involved in Tom's case.

'I am extremely grateful for the fantastic support we have received over the last 11 months.

'Life without my Dad has felt unbearable and felt as though we are living in limbo. This void in our lives will never be filled.

'My dad was devoted to me and Harry and we have a daily struggle without him in our lives. He was the most secure and constant person in our lives. He became my rock and my best friend in my adult life and to say I feel lost and alone is an understatement.

'Harry adored his Grandad and aspired to be like him and he has been robbed of having him around to support and guide him to adulthood.

'We will never recover from this tragedy and our lives will never be the same again. We are now however reaching a point where we can begin to grieve and rebuild our lives, and we ask and thank people in advance for the privacy to do so.'

Speaking about the sentence, Detective Inspector John Arthur from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, who led the investigation said: 'Thomas was the victim of a horrific and sustained attack and Carbott lied in an attempt to cover his tracks.

'Although this sentence will do nothing to bring back Thomas to his family, it does reflect the severity of Carbott's actions and I am pleased with today's sentence.

'I would like to pay tribute to Thomas's family as they have not only lost their loved one in the most brutal way, they have had to endure a trial and relive the horrific events which took place that night.

'Whilst the verdict and sentence will not bring Thomas back, I hope this sentence is of some comfort to them and that it will assist them with moving forward with their lives.'


Comments (7)

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Jailed for 27 years. Out in three months.

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Good!

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27 years, not enough by far.

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So he will be out before he's 60. Then it's off to collect his pension and live out his days at our expense. I'd put him in jail and leave him there until they took him out in a box.

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Deserves nothing less than the death penalty, vile evil scum

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should have got the death sentence!

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BRING BACK CAPITAL PUNISHMENT FOR PEOPLE LIKE THIS

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