'Savage' murdered friend in his own living room before trying to behead him in horror scenes

A killer who stabbed a man to death and then tried to behead him launched a desperate bid to cover his tracks. Matthew Jones murdered 39-year-old William Phelan in his victim’s own home in Harpurhey, north Manchester.

After the sickening attack, Jones left Mr Phelan’s body, and deliberately broke a key in the lock to the front door to hinder anyone trying to enter the flat. It was six weeks before the alarm was raised and Mr Phelan’s body was discovered, Manchester Crown Court heard.

Prosecutors were unable to say exactly when the killing occurred, only that it was sometime in January 2018. Jones, 45, went on trial accused of murder in 2021 and was found guilty.

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But he successfully appealed his conviction after his lawyers complained of a legal issue within the judge’s directions to the jury. Following a re-trial, Jones was convicted of murder for a second time.

He has been handed a life sentence, and ordered to serve a minimum of 20 years behind bars.

Jones and Mr Phelan had both suffered from mental health issues and met together in hospital. When the pair had been discharged, Jones began spending time at Mr Phelan’s flat in Kilnside Drive. Sometime in January 2018, Jones stabbed Mr Phelan to death in his victim’s living room, knifing him eight times.

These injuries alone would have killed him, but Jones decided to continue his sickening attack. He almost beheaded his victim using the same knife, the court heard.

Jones later claimed he did it because he 'wanted to make sure that he was dead'. He then tried to clean himself in the bathroom.

He closed the internal doors to cover up the smell, locked the front door