Man jailed for life after killing grandfather - and trying to disguise murder by torching Spalding home

A man who murdered a grandfather before setting fire to his victim’s home in an apparent bid to disguise the killing has been jailed for life.

Vincent Markham died after suffering head and facial injuries after he was assaulted by Samuel Church on 7 August, 2022.

Detectives initially believed Vincent had died in a fire, as his home had been destroyed in a blaze – but a post mortem examination revealed the true cause of death.

Now Church (37) of of Acacia Avenue, Spalding, has been given a life sentence, to serve a minimum of 20 years, after pleading guilty to murder, perverting the course of justice by setting a fire at the property in Farrow Road, Whaplode Drove.

Following the sentencing, Vincent’s family paid tribute to him, saying: “When people die in old age, we may find this easier to bear. There is even some acceptable pattern, but for Vincent, this is not the case and his tragic death has left all of our family reeling in bewilderment.

“Our lives have been jolted out of our control, with questions which we will never know the answer. However, there are some things in life that we cannot control, but thankfully the man who has caused a lot of the anger, emptiness, shattered dreams, the feeling that we could have changed some circumstances, has been rightly sentenced. We can now have some closure and begin the journey to live without his presence and human touch.

“Vincent was a son, brother, father, grandfather, and a loving friend to many. If there is anything we want him to be remembered by is that; Vincent lived life his way, he was his own person, and his family were his biggest love. He saw the individuality in every single one of them and encouraged them to live their lives their way knowing he was supporting them, and his love was constant.

“We are sure he will still continue to support, love and encourage them in his own way. The highest tribute we can pay Vincent is to stay strong and united as family and friends and that we live life to the full with lots of happiness.”

Lincoln Crown Court heard that emergency services had received several reports of a fire at the Farrow Road property on 7 August. This was at the same time that Mr Markham was located in the front garden of the Farrow Road property.

Church was located in the Broadgate junction area with burn injuries.

He told a member of the public, who came to his aid, that he had tried to get someone out of the fire. He was taken to hospital to be treated, but following his release was arrested and charged with murder and perverting the course of justice.

Detective Inspector Adrian Czajkowski, from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit, said: “The attack that Vincent Markham suffered was brutal and Church tried to cover his tracks by setting fire to his home to make it look like an accident.

“These two men were known to one another and although the motive was not clear, we believe that an ongoing feud may have led to the attack.”