Couple murdered by neighbour over parking row

[dottypotter]

Can't help think of the poor couple who were stabbed to death by their neighbour over a parking space last year. Their children were in bed asleep.

The neighbour has been found guilty this week. He was never going to get away with it. He went home and phoned the police and told them what he had done. Very hard to understand how he couldn't have cared less about their children or his own children or going to prison.

Anyway got me thinking have you ever had really terrible arguments with neighbours that escalated. Have you ever put up and shut up because you were or are afraid of the neighbours and don't want any trouble.

Apparently parking spaces are really high on the list of neighbour arguments. I guess you never really expect to be killed but these days does it make you wary?

I am in a situation where I am living in a village and am surrounded by an extended family. Next door one side, next door but one the other and opposite. There are also two other households within the village. All friendly to start with but about a year ago became extremely hostile.

One of the men took offence when my dog (who was a new to me rescue at the time) was terrified of him and barked at him when he got too close. I apologised, explained and took her inside. Since that day they have decided I have a dangerous dog and have done everything they can to harass me. They block my front gate most days. Im mobility restricted and use crutches or a mobility scooter but they block as much parking as possible so I can't park near my house. The teenagers swear at me. I've had my car scratched, car egged. They have reported me to the landlord for things I haven't done so much that I have been given an eviction notice.

I'm desperate to move but having cancer, being self employed and single means no landlord will touch me.

@SavoyCabbage The police were absolutely hopeless and it proper pisses me off when people on here suggest calling the police all the damn time. They were absolutely useless and if anything escalated the situation.

Absolutely my experience with the police also. Beyond useless!

My parents neighbour threatened them with a baseball bat over a parking situation…

Are you in England? If so ring your housing department at the local council for advice. (Sorry I'm not sure the system in the other nations)

It sounds absolutely dreadful, some people are just dicks.

I reported my neighbour to social services. They asked what I expected them to do as they 'don't visit people' 🙄.

Would never buy a house without a driveway or even a shared driveway. Wouldn’t put myself through that crap.

Murdered by neighbour

this happened away back in about 2001. Our friend’s cousin was killed while pregnant and her son survived after her dispute with a neighbour went too far.

When I was a kid, a neighbour would go fucking mental if anyone parked near his house. But the road alongside his house was the only place to park. He threatened to punch one of our visitors because of it.

He was also really aggressive and threatening to the family that lived next door to the point of the little girl being terrified of him.

Then his wife was ran over by a drunk driver and couldn't get upstairs. Who did he turn to to help him to get a bed downstairs and into the living room? His next door neighbour and my dad!

@IncompleteSenten is there some kind of unwritten code of conduct? If so can you summarise it?

I'm currently watching Meet, Murder, Marry on Netflix, one of the experts talking said about non-molestion orders that the following will happen. The individual will adhere to it, or It will make the situation worse or They will just totally ignore it and carry on as normal. This was in relation to DV but I guess the same applies to restraining orders.

In a significant number (both the UK and US) the lack of police action was a, if not the, contributing factor is the death of the individual.

This is the problem with estates being built as family homes with just one parking space. You need at least two and then visitor parking. Honestly it’s a huge issue for housing officers. Where exactly can you park the car. What exactly could the housing association do? Sounds like he made a complaint.

The police frequently take a which will cause less trouble for everyone approach in these kind of situations. Talk to him about his threatening or aggressive way he spoke to neighbour and it could make it worse. Don’t speak to him and he gets to think his behaviour is acceptable.

As the HA had already sent a warning I’d have expected to see this discussed between police and HA and if he had made a complaint as well to the HA I would expect both to have spoken to him.

Yes I live next door to a absolute idiot who would do something like this to get a reputation

As I have said previously the Police, HA & everyone else are useless

@Dobbysgotthesocks I'm so sorry this has happened to you. I have no idea about English housing Departments, or indeed any other Scottish ones than my own, but here in Aberdeenshire the criteria for getting speedily housed is this:
----------------------------
"You don't have to be sleeping on the street to be homeless. You might have a roof over your head and still be homeless. Legislation says that you are homeless if you:
have no accommodation you are legally entitled to occupy
can't reasonably live in your accommodation
can't gain entry to your accommodation - for example your landlord has changed the locks
face or are at risk of violence or harassment - for example from a partner, ex partner or neighbours
can't reasonably stay there because of overcrowding which is affecting your health
can't reasonably stay there because of a poor standard
don't have permission to stay there or family or friends you have been staying with have asked you to leave
live in a place like a houseboat or caravan, and there is nowhere for you to place it and live in it
may be threatened with homelessness, if you are going to lose your accommodation within two months."
---------------------------
Check your own Council's criteria, it may be similar. If it is you'd be eligible in a heartbeat. (btw, my Council simply asked on the application form what pets I would be bringing with me, I told them and that was fine, so don't be put off applying because you think you'll have to give up your dog.)

I will be asking for a great change for the better for you, and that you beat the cancer, in my prayers. 💐

The article on the case mentioned in the OP states that one of the victims, Jennifer Chapple, had contacted police at least twice with concerns about the neighbour who eventually murdered her.

She told a friend: “He’s ex-military so he definitely thinks he should get what he wants.” She messaged another: “The developers didn’t take into account that people would want to park in front of their own houses … apparently it’s the biggest deal in the world to [Reeves] and he’s made it a personal vendetta.”

On 11 November, 10 days before the killing, Reeves launched a torrent of abuse at Jennifer Chapple, swearing at her and insulting her. Again, she reported this to the police.
She messaged a friend expressing frustration that little had been done after she contacted police in May. “I called them before because he tried this before and they did jack shit.” She described him as a “trained killer” who “gets off on how I react to his popping off”.

HOWEVER

The force’s handling of Jennifer Chapple’s concerns about Reeves has been investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct but it is not expected to find that officers did anything wrong. “Nobody could have predicted what happened,” DCI Meade said.

Unbelievable.

hmm @Crystalvas you clearly haven’t read the thread because if you had, you’d see that having a precious driveway means nothing if someone parks across or blocks part of it, meaning you can’t use it…

unless a driveway is on a Red Route or down a country track off some land, or in a line of continuous dropped kerb, then it’s fair game for the CF’s cited in this thread

so yeah. Driveway does not necessarily equate mental peace unless the driveway entrance is respected

A school friend of mine lost her 2 young children and nephew (aged 2-6), as well as her sister and brother inlaw in a fire which was started by the downstairs neighbour who got pissed off about the pram being in the lobby. She set fire to the pram. It’s really sad!

This one really got to me - the fact that that poor woman tried to get police help and they did 'jack shit' (to use her words) to help before she and her husband were murdered.

@WhiteFire & @a1poshpaws

yes I'm in England. Im registered with the council. Unfortunately as a single adult im only eligible for a 1 bed property through them. 1 beds make up less than 5% of their housing stock and almost all are flats - which wouldn't be suitable for dogs. Average wait for families at the top of the list here is 3 years. So sadly im not expecting much from the council ☹️

My parents have a neighbour who is unstable and unwell enough that she genuinely scares us.

This is particularly gruesome case from a few years ago
m.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/farmer-who-snapped-over-crow-banger-could-be-free-in-two-years-37592520.html

Yes

me - can’t really go into in
but my neighbour tried to stab me and other with 12 inch butcher knives and a machete

I’m still living the nightmare of this as he is trying to return to his council house that he’s been able to hold on to for almost 3 years despite no one living in the property since he was on remand and convicted

His house is directly opposite my house and other neighbours who made statements to the police .

police and the courts have been excellent
the council - well if I could shoot the fuckers in charge I absolutely would . They need a meeting to have a shit in the morning .They are so awful it’s almost funny if it wasn’t the fact that they could easily cause someone death .

They are incompetent cunts and luckily I have a lovely email trail that was sent to me by mistake outlining everything with regards to their incompetence and lots of stuff where they admit the Tennant is a severe danger to the residents of the street but as of yet they haven’t done anything to move the cunt .

if they let him come back and he hurts someone they are so so fucked . I could easily see this being similar to the two most recent neighbour murder cases

@Hutchy16

my ex neighbour ( for now ) has the highest type of restraining order you can get - until further notice - this means it will never end unless he or I apply to the court to end it

Most restraining order either end when the prison sentence ends or have an end date of 1 -2 5 10 years . They only give ones with no end date if it is clear the victims need permanent protection from harassment.

and what my neighbour did he has more chance of winning the lottery than getting it changed .

However because he is a neighbour the judge couldn’t put distance on it
so although he hasn’t lived in his house for almost 3 years when this exclusion order ends next year he can simply walk back into his Council house .

despite the restraining order saying no contact and not to do anything to cause me harm and distress of violence he can return and live opposite me

I am at present fighting with the LA using my MP & local Councillor to force them to move him

I knew this lady as a little girl. Very very sad.

The worst my neighbour has done was demand a £1000 contribution for his leaking roof ?! Never got to the bottom of why!

Nobody knows how to talk things through today
It's all effing and a blinding and you don't get anywhere.

Apparently they were friendly before she passed her test and they got another car.

Can't understand how he got into their house.

Poor children so selfish why can't ppl control themselves.

It seems there's not much the police bother with these days. Only 6 percent of all crime gets investigated. So I presume neighbour disputes are way down on their list.