Teen Corey Gauci who stabbed dad-of-seven to death in horror attack learns fate

A teenager who stabbed to death a father-of-seven has been jailed for life and will serve a minimum of 24 years .

Colin Richards was killed in the Ely area of Cardiff in April last year. Corey Gauci, 19, had denied the 48-year-old father but he stood trial along with five others. Gauci had knifed Mr Richards in his right thigh severing his femoral artery and vein after the pair became involved in an argument.

Gauci's co-defendants Soray Somersall, 44, and Noreen O'Driscoll, 29, were found guilty of assisting an offender, while James O'Driscoll, 27, was guilty of violent disorder and possessing a bladed article, and Rebecca Ross was guilty of assisting an offender and possessing a bladed article.

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

The jury also found Christian Morgan guilty of possessing a bladed article, but failed to reach a decision on a violent disorder charge. During the trial, jurors heard the case centred around a feud between Christian Morgan, who was a friend of Colin Richards, and the other defendants.

Mr Richards sustained a 10cm deep wound to his leg and bled to death within a minute, following a confrontation with a group wielding knives.

Gauci claimed he was protecting himself and thought Mr Richards was going to attack him, but the court was told he instead followed the victim to a parked Audi vehicle, where the victim was found bleeding out.

Morgan, 36, had received threatening messages from a former girlfriend, Noreen O'Driscoll, 29, and she was "getting her brothers or the boys to sort him out".

David Elias, prosecuting, told the court that O'Driscoll, along with the other defendants, gathered near where Morgan lived with "a plan to do him harm". Gauci and James O'Driscoll were armed with blades.

Today, during the sentencing hearing Toni Clayton, Mr Richards’ partner said: “The loss of Colin has impacted me in so many ways, I am really struggling to put this into words. How do I write a statement that gives the court a true reflection of the everyday impact I have endured since Colin was taken from us?

“He was my partner and father of my two young children. We had just started our adventure together as a family and had so many plans but that’s been taken from us now."

She added: “I tell both of my children daddy is a star in the sky. It breaks my heart they will never know their daddy. Colin is gone and I must bring up our two babies on my own. I am feeding them, buying them clothes, paying their nursery fees and I have no emotional support as well.

“I am a single mum of two children, although I am coping this should not be happening. All our lives changed when Colin died. He was always dancing with the kids, singing with them and reading them books at bedtime. I cherish these moments and will make sure the kids know how much their daddy loved them."