Paul Wells' family 'appalled' police officer shared dead body pictures

Paul Wells was killed in his own garden

By Nathan Heath, Dan Farthing & Martin Jones

BBC North East and Cumbria & BBC West Investigations

The family of a man who was killed by his neighbour have said they are "appalled" a police officer shared images of his dead body.

Paul Wells, who was originally from Middlesbrough, was found stabbed to death in the garden of his home in Highbridge, Somerset, on 25 June 2020.

His family spoke ahead of the sentencing of former PC Lewis Wood, who shared footage of investigations.

"We'll never know why he did it - which hurts," said Mr Wells' brother, Colin.

"Why would you do something like that? I don't think we'll ever get an honest answer for that question.

"Not being able to protect my little brother has kicked me hard. I think about him all the time, every day, I miss him so much."

On Friday, Wood was jailed for more than two years at Exeter Crown Court for three counts of misconduct in a public office.

He will be eligible for release on licence after serving half the sentence.

Mr Wells' brother, Colin, said he will never understand why the officer took pictures

Mr Wells was killed by his neighbour, Richard Matthews, who had severe mental health problems.

Matthews wrongly believed that Mr Wells was a child sex offender and police informer. He was given an indefinite hospital order.

Concerns had been raised about Matthews' wellbeing on the day of the killing, and police officers, paramedics and firefighters attended shortly after and spoke to Matthews before leaving.

Later in the day, Matthews made a 999 call and said he had killed 39-year-old Mr Wells.

Wood, 42, of Bridgwater, Somerset, attended the scene. He took images as part of his job using bodyworn cameras. Some of those were later shared it with family and friends on WhatsApp.

The former police constable, from Avon and Somerset Police, shared footage relating to a number of investigations he attended between December 2018 and August 2020.

Lewis Wood distributed images and videos on WhatsApp to family and friends

"These are the sort of people that you're meant to trust to help and protect you and he's going around doing that, it is appalling," added Mr Wells' cousin, El Jamieson.

"I didn't just lose a cousin, I lost a friend and I feel robbed of all the fun times we could have had."

Wood recorded the policing material on his personal phone.

Lewis Wood was a police constable based in Somerset

Avon and Somerset Police has apologised to the victims and said Wood's decision to share sensitive images and videos "violated the trust" members of the public put in him and the force.

The force said his employment ended in 2021.

Assistant Chief Constable Joanne Hall said: "We worked with the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and we have through significant investigations charged Wood with three offences.

"As a result of that, he will never work in policing or have a role in policing now or ever again."

Wood is on unconditional bail and has been told to expect a custodial sentence.

Colin said he "misses his brother so much"

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