Man jailed for murdering his flatmate in Colne

A man has been jailed for stabbing his flatmate to death in Colne.

Officers were called to a property in New Market Street at 2.26pm on 31st March where paramedics were treating 34-year-old Richard Chamberlain who had suffered a number of stab injuries.

Despite the best efforts of members of the public and medical professionals Richard sadly died a short time later.

A postmortem examination later established that the cause of Richard’s death was multiple stab wounds.

When officers initially arrived at the property, 44 year old Frank Wrona was still in his bedroom – the scene of the fatal stabbing – and was shouting: “Come in here and I’ll slice you up.”

He then told officers that Richard “had deserved it”, claiming that the victim had stolen some money from him.

Wrona, of New Market Street, Colne, was arrested at the scene and later charged with Richard’s murder.

Later examinations revealed that Wrona had taken significant amounts of cocaine and alcohol before he carried out the fatal attack.

DCI Andy Fallows, of our Force Major Investigation Team, said: “My thoughts today are with Richard’s devastated family and friends who have had to sit in court and hear the appalling details of how their loved one’s life came to such an unexpected and violent end.

“This was a callous and cowardly attack committed on a vulnerable victim. There is no justification for such spontaneous and excessive violence. After carrying out the ferocious attack he did nothing to help Richard, instead he chose to issue further threats of violence to the first responders.

“While no sentence can ever making up for the taking of a life, I hope Richard’s taken some solace in the fact that Wrona will be in prison for a considerable length of time. He will then have to convince the Parole Board that he poses no risk to the public before he is ever released.”

In a victim impact statement on behalf of his family, Richard’s father Ian, said: “The 31st of March 2024 and Easter Sunday will always bring deep sadness and a day that changed our families lives forever. Few people will ever understand the devastation that two police officers knocking on your door late on a Sunday night brings. The total heartbreak then the haze and numbness that follows can never be adequately described. The taking of Richard in such a brutal and callous way will forever haunt us. He did not deserve this, and we did not deserve to lose our son/brother in this horrific manner.

“We can only imagine the fear and pain that he endured on that fateful day and that is the most terrible thought ever. It will never go away. We frequently question ‘why?’ but sadly nothing can change the events of that that one day, something that has had such an impact on so many lives – family, friends, acquaintances and even past teachers - all shocked and devastated. Imagine the effect that this has had on his 87-year-old Nana.

“It is hard to comprehend that we will never see Richard again, never hear his voice and his cheeky little laugh. We will not hear all his witticisms, factual ramblings or see him progress through life, wherever that may have taken him. We will never be able to celebrate his birthday, Christmas or other key events with him. He will never enjoy banter with his brothers or follow his nieces’ progress as they grow up. In a weird way, despite the trauma, life carries on around you, whilst you are in this state of numbness. We console ourselves with all the wonderful memories of an extremely bright, thoughtful, artistically talented, caring and very special person who saw the good in everyone. That is how we want Richard to be remembered.

“As a family, the last few months have been extremely difficult. We have had to deal with all that a murder case entails on top of the grief and trauma of losing our son/brother. The tears and feelings of anxiety have been profound. The physical toll on our health has been significant for all of us with symptoms of nausea, short-temperedness, lack of drive and the ability to go about everyday tasks.

“We are hoping that time will reduce the pain and help us to heal both physically and emotionally. Having said that, we are certain that inwardly this tragic loss will never go away and there will always be everyday triggers bringing flashbacks and the deep sorrow that we feel. Richard’s possessions and keepsakes are something that we hope will give us comfort in the future, rather than the raw reminder of events that we are currently experiencing.

“We are lucky that we are a strong family unit and have a good network of extended family and friends to support us. We take each day at a time. The police, victim support and counsellors have all played a key role in getting us through this very difficult period in our lives. Richard was a very special but vulnerable person. He lived with the challenges of autism, specifically Asperges Syndrome but found solace in art, the countryside and animals. His passion was drawing and his dream was to pursue fashion design.

“We truly believed that, with the right support, this is something he was capable of achieving and had hope of a positive future. He struggled with relationships and was often misunderstood but he should have been respected for who he was and protected from harm.

“Sadly, his understanding of friendships often meant he could easily be exploited to gain approval. We fought so hard for Richard throughout his life but, regrettably, this is something we couldn’t help him with, and this just adds to the feeling of grief and despair. We will forever wish that things could have been different.

“Finally, our overwhelming wish is that we had been given a chance to say ‘goodbye’. All Richard would have wanted when he sustained his vicious injuries would have been to have us by his side. Family has been incredibly important to him, for many personal reasons, over the years. He loved and cared about us so much, as we did him. Such a tragic and unnecessary waste of a life that we, our family and friends, will have to endure for the rest of our lives.”

Frank Wrona was sentenced to life with a minimum of 16 years.

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