1:32pm Thursday 11th December 2003
By Times Group
The con man who befriended a Hampstead Garden Suburb millionaire then stabbed him to death with a ten-inch butcher's knife has been jailed for life.
Tyrone Thomas knifed Daniel Keats, 49, repeatedly in the face and head at his £2million home in Turner Drive while Mr Keats was preparing dinner, on October 19 last year.
The Old Bailey heard how Thomas would befriend wealthy people in pubs around Hampstead before swindling them of their money. It was there that Thomas sparked a friendship with Mr Keats, falsely telling him he was an interior designer.
The two went shopping for food at Sainsbury's in Finchley Road on the day of his death.
Judge Giles Forrester told Thomas he was a 'parasite' when sentencing him on Thursday (Dec 4).
"In my judgment you are a manipulative, deceitful and a very dangerous man.
"I have no doubt whatsoever that you targeted Daniel Keats in order to steal from him."
After he had stabbed Mr Keats to death, Thomas covered the body in a sheet and drove away in the dead man's Rover - dumping it in Holloway. He left the blood-stained weapon in the back seat.
On the day after the killing, Thomas smoked crack cocaine and took heroin with prostitute Angela Wild before they returned to ransack the house - taking jewellery, cash, and Mr Keats' valuable chess sets and Bang & Olufson stereo.
Three days later his body was found by his parents Victor, a millionaire property developer, and Marion.
Mr Keats' brother and sister, Elana and Michael, released a statement after the verdict saying: "Danny was always concerned about his parents and would visit them often. This is where he will be most sorely missed.
"It was their unease at not having seen him for a few days that led them to discover his brutally beaten body.
"And now this is what our father sees every time he closes his eyes."
Detective Chief Inspector Martin Lee, the officer in charge of the investigation, said: "Mr Keats was completely defenceless. It would have been a horrible, terrible shock to him.
"Some of the injuries he Thomas caused were absolutely horrific and it was an horrendous weapon."
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