Killer to stay in jail until 2019
A Shropshire farm labourer who decapitated a man with an axe before dumping his body in a park will remain behind bars until at least 2019, a top judge has ruled.
The body of Mr Sanders, 20, of Shrewsbury, was found in Cofton Park, Birmingham in 2000. Latus was convicted of the murder three years later.
Reviewing the case at London's Royal Courts of Justice yesterday, Mr Justice Gibbs said Latus, 36, posed a "serious danger for the indefinite future".
He set his tariff - the minimum term he must spend behind bars - at 18 years. The judge, who described the crimes as "horrifying", said Latus's mother, Christine Artiss, was "sympathetic to him" but considered she would be at risk were he to be released.
Latus was convicted of the murder of Mr Sanders at Chester Crown Court on October 16, 2003, and sentenced to life imprisonment.
In 2002, he admitted the manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility of Colin Foulkes, 50. He was also convicted of the attempted murder of his mother.
Mr Justice Gibbs said Latus tried to kill his mother in an attack a few weeks previous to murdering Mr Sanders and killed Mr Foulkes after he was arrested for Mr Sanders's murder, but released on bail.
The 18-year tariff means he will not be able to apply for parole until 2019 and will have to convince the parole board he poses no risk the public.
