Son stabs father to death over internet speed

A 55-year-old man has been handed to the enforcement agency after he repeatedly stabbed his 76-year-old father to death following an augment over broadband speed, Dailymail.co.uk reported on Monday.

The defendant, Stephen Gallagher, committed the crime in their home in South Wales and dialed 999 to report himself to authorities.

The deceased, Thomas Gallagher had walked away from his son during the wifi row which sparked the ‘intense attack’, according to Prosecutor Mark Wyeth QC.

Gallagher said: “He irritates me when he ignores me during an argument. He walked away and slammed the door so I rushed upstairs and grabbed the knife.

“I entered the room grabbed the phone off of him, smashed it on the floor and stabbed him.”

He also admitted that while he was stabbing his father he shouted ‘die’ at him.

He told police: ‘I could see he was in pain and he said ‘Steve’ – I wanted to finish him off stabbed him again and told him to die.’

The prosecutor added that “Such was the intensity of this attack Mr Gallagher was not able to defend himself and there was no evidence of defensive injuries.”

Meanwhile the defendant’s counsel, Paul Lewis QC, said: ‘It is beyond comprehension that what started as an argument over such a trivial matter as the internet provider at their home could result in this tragic murder.

‘There was an argument between father and son. What began as a trivial argument led to the defendant going to his bedroom and retrieving the knife.’

The Judge Paul Thomas QC, however, sentenced Gallagher to life imprisonment with a minimum of 13 years and four months.

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