Paranoid schizophrenic killed young woman with screwdriver & ‘chewed’ her face, inquest told
A paranoid schizophrenic man accused of “chewing” a young woman's face after brutally murdering her was released from prison just two weeks earlier without medication or supervision, an inquest has heard.
Matthew Williams, 34, killed Cerys Yemm, 22, after attacking her with a screwdriver in his room at Sirhowy Arms Hotel Argoed, South Wales.
Williams himself subsequently died after being tasered by police.
Day two of an inquest into the deaths in November heard that the hostel landlady barged into Williams’ room after hearing screams, and found the woman covered in blood and Williams lying on top of her, “eating” her and “chewing her face.”
The inquest heard the 999 emergency call the hostel proprietor Mandy Miles made once she discovered the attack.
“He’s eating her.
“He’s shoving a screwdriver in her face. He’s actually chewing her face.
“I went into the room and he’s killed her. Oh my God. Is this real?
“There’s blood everywhere and it looks like something from a horror film.”
Although forensics showed Williams had not ingested any of Yemm’s flesh, Miles told the inquest it seemed as though he was feeding on the body.
“It looked to me as if he was eating her. And that’s what it still looks [like].”
Giving evidence during the hearing, Miles said, “I shouted to him: ‘Matthew do you know what you are doing? Do you know what you are doing? Are you eating her?’
“I can’t remember but it’s all jumbled. Science has proved that he wasn’t but that’s what it looked like.
“That’s no girl. There’s just blood dripping from her. It was horrific,” she added.
Williams’ mother, Sally Ann, said her son had received medication while in prison for two and a half years, but was given “no mental health support whatsoever” once released on October 23, 2014.
“He told me he’d been released without any medication.
“He’d been released without license and had no probation restrictions.”
The inquest heard Williams was released without support, despite being sectioned twice and saying he heard voices in his head.
His mother added Williams had told her “the voices were back” just days before the killing, and that his “head wasn’t right.”
Williams reportedly killed Yemm after binging on alcohol and drugs.
His best friend, Rhodri Moore, said Williams seemed fine when he left prison, but his condition soon worsened and he began taking drugs on a daily basis.
“He wasn’t very well. He was seeing things, hallucinating. He was annoyed and on edge. Depressed.”
“He couldn’t get any medication. His mother was trying very hard to get someone to see him.
“He was willing to be helped. He wanted to be helped.”
The inquest heard 999 operators reported the murder at the hostel to officers at just after 1am, saying someone had attacked another person with a screwdriver and they were eating their face.
“This is genuine,” the 999 operator is heard adding.
Police reportedly arrived at the hostel 14 minutes after the 999 call to arrest Williams.
The inquest continues.
