A former commando who stabbed his neighbors to death after a lengthy parking dispute has claimed that his military training began when a bright white security light came on, reminding him of the flares in an area. of war.
Collin Reeves told a murder jury he stepped forward, instinctively protected himself, and agreed that he should then have entered Jennifer and Stephen Chapple’s house and killed them with his ceremonial dagger. , although he insisted he did not remember the actual attack.
Reeves, 35, told the Bristol Crown Court jury that he was “trained to kill” and had been taught how to fight hand-to-hand combat, the use of a bayonet and how to clean houses during urban operations.
He said he had served in Afghanistan and lost friends and colleagues in the conflict, and told the jury that after his tour he had not had time to “decompress” because he had been subjected to a court-martial by a drunkenness fight.
Reeves admits to the involuntary manslaughter of the Chapples, who were killed while their children slept upstairs in their home in the village of Norton Fitzwarren, Somerset, but denies the manslaughter.
Stephen and Jennifer Chapple. Photo: Sam Malone / Avon and Somerset / PA Media Police
He said that on the day of the murder, shortly after Remembrance Sunday last year, he visited a war memorial to honor his fallen colleagues and argued with his wife, Kayley Reeves, that he had suggested a separation trial.
Reeves said he did not remember grabbing the dagger, which was presented to him when he left the army, from the living room wall. The jury has seen security footage of him climbing the fence separating his property.
The ex-soldier said he remembered the bright light coming on. “I felt like I was being seen or engaged. The white light was always a trigger for something, like someone triggering a travel flare. It was the feeling that something was about to happen.”
Asked what he was trained for, he replied: “To cover. I was trying to get on my belt buckle and stretch in front so they wouldn’t see me. He continued: “I felt like it was me or them. I know I was wrong, I should never have been.
“I feel ashamed, disgusted with myself for what I have done, for taking the lives of Stephen and Jennifer while their children were in bed, causing pain and suffering to their families and friends.”
Dr. Karen Gough, a forensic psychologist, evaluated Reeves in prison and concluded that he was suffering from a “complex PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder]”, Depression and anxiety.
She said: “I think Mr Reeves struggled to recognize PTSD related to his time in Afghanistan, as he felt that other soldiers were much worse off and exposed to much more trauma and risk.
“He did not appreciate the impact of what he witnessed with wounded soldiers returning to Camp Bastion [in Helmand Province] and the risk posed by detainees ”.
The trial continues.