Man jailed for life over Whitley Bay guesthouse murder

A man's been jailed for life for murdering a stranger at a Whitley Bay guest house.

25-year-old Tony Dodds broke into the Bermuda Guest House on North Parade in the early hours of March 17th.

After trying to enter the rooms of other tenants he was able to get into the room of vulnerable 39-year-old Matthew Davis

Matthew was then kicked, punched and repeatedly struck over the head with a wine bottle.

His body was found two days later.

Dodds was charged with murder and has pleaded guilty to causing Mr Davis' death.

Following the sentencing, senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Shelley Hudson said:

"I know that this will have been an extremely difficult six months for the family of Matthew Davis and that they have been dignified given the circumstances. This was a truly cowardly attack on a vulnerable man who was beaten to death. All of the evidence would suggest that he was attacked in his sleep; he had no defensive wounds and there was nothing to suggest a struggle took place. What's more it appears that Matthew's murder was without motive or reason. The defendant showed little remorse for his actions, and after the attack had unashamedly tried to enter the kitchen of the guest house to cook himself some food before leaving the building.

"While we may never know why Dodds killed Matthew, at least today he will face the consequences of his actions."

Matthew's family have paid tribute to him, saying:

"On March 15 our family's life was turned upside down. Matty's life was tragically cut short by an evil individual who has no remorse for his actions. As a family we are devastated and there is a hole within our family that will never go away. Matty was such a kind-hearted guy who was well liked by all who met him. He was to turn 40 in June this year and as a family we should have been celebrating not going through all of this heart ache.

“We would like to thank Northumbria Police for their quick actions and their response to Matthew's murder. Victim Support have also offered us excellent assistance throughout this time. We would also like to thank the community of Whitley Bay and North Shields for their outpouring of support to gain the evidence to convict Dodds.

“As a family we would now like to grieve and try to get on with our lives as best we can.