Happily married mechanic, 38, who took super strength LSD n-bomb and beat his teacher wife and a hero pensioner to death during a psychotic episode before doing a victory speech to neighbours outside their £370,000 house is jailed for life
Daniel Appleton, 38, has been jailed for more than 26 years for double murder
Car mechanic beat his wife Amy Appleton, 32, and OAP Sandy Seagrave to death
He ranted he was God as he murdered pair outside Crawley Down home in 2019
Court heard that Appleton was in grip of psychotic episode after taking LSD
Appleton jailed for life with a minimum of 26 years for the double murder
The judge told him that this was not a case of insanity . He added: I sentence you on the basis that you took a new psychoactive substance and under the influence of this committed these murders. Anyone who takes new psychoactive substances, which are Class A drugs, is interfering with their own mental processes and responsible for the consequences.
Daniel Appleton has been found guilty of the murders of his wife and a pensioner in Crawley Down Amy Appleton s mother Linda Remon faced her daughter s killer in court as she described the uncontrollable distress and despair her family have experienced.
He may have taken 25I-NBOMe, a powerful hallucinogenic drug. Mr Corsellis said: “The defendant accepts that he was responsible. His actions led to the death of his wife and a passerby who he had never met before. “This is not a case of what happened, who did it, but a question of why and the lead up to.” The court heard how he dragged Amy out of their home and beat her to death on the driveway. He killed their elderly neighbour Mrs Seagrave by beating her head with her own walking stick when she confronted him. Passing dog walker Janet Spragg said Appleton, at that point clad only in boxer shorts, had made a nightmarish “victory speech” where he said: “You think I’m a f ing nutter. I’ll show you.”
Daniel Appleton had used drugs when he dragged wife outside and attacked her
When Sandy Seagrave intervened near the Crawley home, he turned on her too
Both women were viciously beaten to death before Appleton tried to kill himself
Police found him naked in pool of his blood after determined suicide attempt
Appleton, who admitted the killings but denied using drugs, is expected to get the mandatory life sentence after being found guilty of two counts of murder