‘Obsessed’ man broke into his ex’s home and stabbed her new partner to death as they lay in bed
Kaydon Prior and Jason Curtis jailed for minimum of 28 years and 22 years for murder of Harrison Tomkins in Crawley
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A jealous ex has been jailed for stabbing his former girlfriend’s new lover to death while he lay in bed.
Kaydon Prior, 23, had also punched his former partner Alicia Parrin while he repeatedly knifed Harrison Tomkins, 25, with a hunting blade.
Appearing on Tuesday at Brighton Crown Court, both Prior and his accomplice Jason Curtis were locked behind bars for a minimum of 28 and 22 years respectively for the horrific attack.
Speaking in court, Ms Parrin said she would never recover from the trauma of watching Mr Tomkins die, and said that Prior would likely taken “pleasure in how he has pulled my life apart”.
Jurors heard that Ms Parrin and Prior had been in a relationship in which he had been “jealous and controlling”, and had threatened to kill her if she was ever with anyone else.
In July 2023, she obtained her own flat in a bid to escape his clutches, yet he refused to believe the relationship was over.
On 13 August last year, the two killers had been out in Chelsea, London, to celebrate Curtis’ birthday but had made their way back to Crawley at around 1.30am.
During this period, they discovered that Prior’s ex-girlfriend was out in the town centre with Tomkins, with the two then seen on CCTV outside Medusa cocktail bar at around 3am looking for her.
The duo then took a taxi to her flat in Arthur Road and gained entry to the communal area, where they heard her and Mr Tomkins inside her property.
This prompted Prior to call a taxi to return to his home address to retrieve the key to his ex-girlfriend’s flat in order to carry out the attack, while Curtis stayed behind to keep watch.
At 5.30am, the two burst into her flat, and stabbed defenceless lifeguard Mr Tomkins multiple times while he lay in bed.
Jurors heard how Prior dropped the knife in the bedroom, punched Ms Parrin, and walked out of the building where he rejoined Curtis, telling him to burn his clothes as they escaped.
Police were called and a major search too place, with Prior arrested at his home address and Curtis found hiding in bushes nearby. When arrested, he told officers: “Who’s been murdered? I’ve been on a night out as it’s my birthday.”
Judge Jeremy Gold KC said Curtis “played a full part” in the lead-up to this “dreadful crime” by assisting Prior.
The court heard how Ms Parrin sent messages to Prior on the day before the murder saying “go f*** yourself don’t ever contact me again”, but he still believed they were in a relationship.
Ms Parrin and Mr Tomkins had got to know each other by working at the K2 leisure centre, and things had got “flirtier” between them in the weeks leading up to August 12, when the pair decided to meet at a work colleague’s leaving do.
They were spotted at a pub and club in Crawley town centre by a mutual connection, Ella Stanford, who messaged Curtis on Snapchat that Ms Parrin was out with friends.
Curtis replied: “Kaydon says to keep an eye out for her and see what she is doing.”
Jurors heard that Prior was also sent a video of Ms Parrin, kissing another man in a club that night and he messaged her saying: “Letting guys kiss you and that… that’s absolutely wrong… I can literally see you.”
During his trial, Prior claimed that he had gone to Ms Parrin’s flat as he “didn’t like sleeping on arguments” before a fight broke out between him and Mr Tomkins, with both reaching for the knife.
However, Ms Parrin said Prior was the instigator and that she had not realised he was repeatedly stabbing his victim until she saw there was blood everywhere.
She said: “I used to use sleep as a way of getting out of scary situations. As soon as I close my eyes I see him coming into my room and doing the unthinkable again.”
Despite denying murder charges, they were both found guilty at the conclusion of a four-week trial.
Sentencing the pair, Judge Gold said: “This was a carefully planned and executed killing of a young man who neither of you knew or had any sensible reason to want to hurt, let alone kill.
“This brutal murder was born out of utter obsession by you, Kaydon Prior, with Alicia Parrin. She was understandably exhausted by your increasingly coercive and controlling behaviour over the last few weeks of your relationship.
“She made it clear to you she no longer put up with it, you could not and would not accept that simple fact.”
In a statement, Mr Tomkins’ family said: “Harrison was innocent in all of this, taken by surprise and killed as he laid in bed, with no time to defend himself.
“We knew our son and he didn’t move in any of these circles or know this way of life.
“We were an amazing family, completely content, loving, supportive and protective. Except in August last year our family was destroyed that fateful day - the day I could not protect my son.
“Harrison, our first born son and brother to his two adoring sisters was just the greatest, he saw the best in everyone he met. He was a lover of life.
“Nothing said or done can help justify this senseless loss of life.
Case Officer Detective Police Constable Elliott Lander, of the Major Crime Team, said: “I am pleased that we have been able to get the justice that Harrison richly deserves today.
“I never got to meet Harrison, but I have learned so much about him and have seen how greatly loved he was by all who knew him.
“Harrison was killed in a frenzied attack that he had no chance to defend himself from. Prior and Curtis will both rightly now have to live with the devastating consequences of their actions for a considerable period of their lives in prison.
“On behalf of Harrison and all his family and friends, I’d like to thank those who came forward and supported our investigation.”