FELIXSTOWE: Three men, including one from Felixstowe, are beginning jail sentences today for their involvement in the brutal killing of a Norfolk man.

Andrew Cameron, 28, and his friend Alexander Dewar, 24, both from Blackpool, were convicted by a jury at Norwich Crown Court yesterday of the killing of Steven Murphy, 45, who was stabbed 16 times at his home on September 30 last year.

James Cameron, a long-distance trucker who lived mostly in Scotland, but was based at Poplar Avenue in Felixstowe for his work, was given a 15-year jail term for what the judge described as “unleashing the dogs of war” to get revenge on Mr Murphy as he was jealous over his friendship with Julianne Dowling, a woman he was also interested in.

Both Andrew Cameron and Dewar were given life sentences with the recommendation they serve a minimum of 25 years.

Andrew Cameron planned the attack with his father James Cameron, 53, and both men were convicted of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with intent to Mr Murphy.

Jailing them, Judge Peter Jacobs described James Cameron as a “jealous and possessive” man and said that he had enlisted his son to seek revenge on Mr Murphy.

“There is no suggestion you put any limitation on how the agreement should be carried out.”

He said that Andrew Cameron had then got Dewar as his “willing” volunteer and they had carried out the savage attack on Mr Murphy after driving from Blackpool to Fakenham in Norfolk.

He said that after the killing, both Dewar and Andrew Cameron had boasted about the killing and thought that the fact they had no links to the area meant they would not get caught.

However, he praised the skilful police work which had managed to build up such a convincing case against all three men – which got an important breakthrough when officers recovered a text message from James Cameron’s phone which was sent to his son Andrew on the day of the murder.

The message contained offensive references to Mr Murphy and this eventually led police to Andrew Cameron and his friend Dewar.

After the case, Det Chief Insp Jes Fry, who led the investigation, said: “The investigation was particularly difficult as the offenders who were directly involved had no ties to the local area and through their awareness and knowledge of forensic science had not left any evidence at the scene.”

After the case, the victim’s family made a statement which paid tribute to Mr Murphy, describing him as a “beautiful son, a loving brother and a proud father”.

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