Colne murderer sentenced to life imprisonment for murder of flatmate

Richard Chamberlain suffered 17 stab wounds from 44-year-old Frank Wrona, who killed him in a house in Colne on Easter Sunday (March 31).

Richard was found outside the property by members of the public who called emergency services, and a trail of blood was seen leading from inside the house to Richard's body.

Inside, Wrona could be heard screaming: “That’s what you get for stealing my money.”

Francis McEntee, prosecuting at Preston Crown Court, said Wrona accused Richard and another man of stealing £2,000 from his bank account.

He believed the two had hacked his phone, but analysis of the device after his arrest showed that this had not happened.

Frank Wrona (Image: Lancashire Police)

When police arrived at the locked door that shielded them from Wrona, he shouted that he would “cut to pieces” the next person who entered the room and said to Richard, “Is he dead?”

When armed police arrived, Wrona gave in.

Police recordings recorded him saying Richard “deserved it” and that he was “f***ing kidding.”

Wrona had recently been released from prison for a Section 20 assault charge. Referring to his return to prison, he was recorded saying: “Fuck it, it is what it is. Nobody is messing with me.”

He was admitted to Royal Blackburn Hospital for treatment of a cut on his hand and began verbally abusing staff.

Mr McEntee said Richard was pronounced dead shortly before 4pm and the attack took place shortly before 2.30pm.

At the time of the attack, Richard was sitting on a chair in his bedroom and managed to crawl down the stairs and outside.

In a statement read to the court by McEntee on behalf of Richard's family, he said: “Richard's abduction in such a brutal and heartless manner will haunt us forever. He did not deserve this and we did not deserve to lose our son/brother in this horrific way.”

“It's hard to comprehend that we will never see Richard again, never hear his voice and cheeky laugh again. We won't hear all his quips and matter-of-fact ramblings, or see him go through life, wherever it may have taken him. We will never be able to celebrate his birthday, Christmas or other important events with him.

“We hope that time will ease the pain and help us heal both physically and emotionally. However, we know that this tragic loss will never go away internally and there will always be everyday triggers that bring up flashbacks and the deep grief we feel.

“Our greatest wish is that we had the chance to say goodbye. When Richard suffered his terrible injuries, all he wanted was to have us by his side. Family was incredibly important to him over the years for many personal reasons. He loved and cared so much for us, as we did for him. Such a tragic and unnecessary waste of a life that we, our family and friends, will have to endure for the rest of our lives.”

Wrona, of New Market Street, Colne, has 25 previous convictions for 29 offences, including an incident in which he attacked his own brother with a piece of glass from a broken mirror.

Patrick Cassidy, who mitigated the prosecution, said Wrona was heavily under the influence of drugs at the time of the incident.

He said it was not a “continuous and planned event” and that he did not bring any weapons to the scene.

Judge Robert Altham said in passing sentence: “You inflicted such serious injuries on him that despite all emergency measures he could not be saved. He was only 34 years old.”

“This was a relentless, frenzied and determined attack on an unarmed man. It was a horrific death for Richard. He was attacked in his own room and accused of something he did not do and knew nothing about.”

Wrona was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 16 years and 79 days.

Richard Chamberlain (Image: Lancashire Police)

DCI Andy Fallows, of Lancashire Police's Force Major Investigation Team, said: “My thoughts today are with Richard's devastated family and friends who have sat in court and had to hear the horrific details of how their loved one's life ended so unexpectedly and violently.

“This was a callous and cowardly attack on a defenseless victim. There is no justification for such spontaneous and excessive violence. After the gruesome attack, he did nothing to help Richard and continued to threaten emergency services with violence.

“While no sentence can ever make up for a person's death, I hope Richard takes some comfort in the fact that Wrona will spend a significant amount of time in prison. Before he is released, he must convince the parole board that he is not a danger to the public.”