'Barbaric' murderer stabbed lifelong friend in the heart then sent taunting text

A "barbaric" murderer who stabbed a lifelong friend to death knifed him through the lung and heart then texted him a taunting message saying: "Better luck next time". The victim died from a single knife wound to the right side of his chest measuring 12cm.

Ashley Davies, 30, was convicted of the murder of Conall Evans, 30, who was found seriously injured near the Ysbyty Cwm Rhondda Hospital car park in Tonypandy in the early hours of New Year's Day this year. He was later pronounced dead having suffered a stab wound. Davies, of Forge Road, Pentre, was sentenced at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on Friday after being convicted of murder and possession of a bladed article.

During the sentencing hearing the victim's sister, Elise Evans, read out a heartbreaking impact statement in which she laid bare her family's torment. She said: “I am the proud sister of Conall Evans who was murdered by his childhood friend on January 1, 2024…. What has happened to our family is beyond words. We are shattered, heartbroken, and consumed by pain which feels impossible to bear. When we were told Conall was murdered we felt the ground beneath us had crumbled and crushed us in ways which I could never imagine. I’ll never forget my mother and I had to identify Conall after his death. That image haunts me every night. Every time I close my eyes I don’t see his handsome face or his warming smile but his lifeless body.”

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Ms Evans told the court her family had faced the worst possible experience of their lives. She added: "The weight is something we carry daily and it has affected me emotionally and mentally. The brutal