Brits ‘feel sick’ after watching murderer stare down police following brutal attack

Viewers of 24 Hours in Police Custody have been sickened by the exchange between a murderer and the police in the interview room.

On 13 November, 2022, Adam Fanelli and Patrick Howard were murdered in Houghton Regis, Bedfordshire.

Fanelli, 39, was stabbed to death, while Howard, 27, was stabbed and run over by a car, with two other men jailed for life as a result.

The Channel 4 show followed the police investigation into the murders, including the police interviews with Anthony Bennison, 25, and Nicholas Papworth, 33.

Bennison was convicted of two counts of murder and Papworth was cleared over the death of Fanelli but found guilty of murdering Howard.

A third man, Mason Jordan, was severely injured after also being stabbed, and prosecutor Simon Denison KC said the men convicted of murder 'both used their cars as weapons' in the crime

Bedfordshire Police

Bennison stabbed Fanelli twice in the chest and then injured Jordan by stabbing him, he then stabbed Howard in the neck before Papworth drove over him.

Police were able to identify the killers thanks to CCTV footage and help from the local community, and their interviews featured on last night's (8 January) episode of 24 Hours in Police Custody.

Viewers found that being shown the moment where the crime was committed made them 'feel sick', and others shared their thoughts on the moment Papworth was interviewed by officers.

Throughout the interview, the man who would go on to be convicted of Patrick Howard's murder kept saying 'no comment' and stared blankly at the police.

Viewers were not impressed by Papworth's behaviour during the interview, commenting that they thought he was 'trying his hardest to intimidate one particular copper'.

Channel 4

Another said the officer seemed like he 'has played this game many times' and knew how to conduct an interview.

Papworth mainly spoke to DC Jacob Hobday, who described the crime as one of 'rage and hatred'.

"At the end of the day the evidence speaks for itself, but in a scenario where a person's going 'no comment' and refusing to talk to you it becomes even more of a game where what they don't say speaks quite loudly,"

Other Channel 4 viewers who were watching closely thought they saw a crack in his façade when statements of what he'd said during an incident in a pub were read out to him.

One viewer said Papworth 'had the look of oh s**t I been caught' when the statements were read out to him.

24 Hours in Police Custody is available to watch on Channel 4.