A 37-year-old man who pleaded guilty to the murder of his friend in Ormesby on 7th April this year has today been sentenced to 18 years and four months in prison.
David Thompson-Love was arrested at the scene after an incident at the home of Maurice Bennett, 54.
Speaking after today’s sentencing Senior Investigating Officer Homicide and Major Enquiry Team (HMET) Inspector Matt Hollingsworth said: “Maurice Bennett was a vulnerable man whose life was taken from him in the most brutal circumstances, by someone he thought was a friend.
“He sustained horrific injuries in this attack – one of those proving to be fatal – and tragically Maurice was found by family members. I can`t imagine the shock, horror and trauma this must have caused.
“The enquiry team worked tirelessly to build a strong case against David Thompson-Love and our work in partnership with the Crown Prosecution Service to present the case, meant he was left with no option but to plead guilty to murder.
“I do hope today’s sentence will in time bring a degree of comfort to Mr Bennett`s family. On behalf of everyone involved in the investigation, I thank them all for their support and I wish them well as they continue to come to terms with what happened.”
And Mr Bennett’s family said: “As a family we know we now have to come to terms with never seeing our lovely caring brother, uncle and fiancé Moza again, especially over Christmas. Christmas was Moza’s favourite day and the only day he ever went out… he loved Christmas day.
“But what we will never understand or forgive is why?
“Why did you so brutally murder your best friend, your friend who always had your back.
“In our eyes you’re noting but a coward.”
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank the team at Cleveland Police for the investigation and to all the other agencies that have been involved in helping and supporting us as a family through this extremely difficult time.”
Photos, below, kindly provided by Mr Bennett’s family:
Maurice, and Maurice with his late father
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