'Heroin addict Labradoodle thief' faces life in jail after murdering 'loving father', as body found in duvet cover
29 February 2024, 17:05
A drug addict who has been found guilty of murdering a 45-year-old father in Manchester was caught by police as he prepared to steal his dog.
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Homeless man Ian Connell, 39, killed Donald Prentice Patience, 45, in August last year.
Mr Patience was discovered inside a duvet cover at the bottom of his stairs.
Police were called after a postman saw Connell climbing in through a broken window on August 22.
When police arrived, he was nearby with Mr Patience's white labradoodle, Layla, on a lead.
Connell told officers that Mr Patience, his "dear friend", was away and had let him break into the property so he could walk the dog.
Mr Patience had been strangled at least a day before. Prosecutors said Connell probably attacked him after an argument about money.
Michael Hayton KC said that Connell had exploited Mr Patience's good nature, who had money from family property.
He claimed that Connell treated Mr Patience as an "open wallet" and had been given thousands of pounds since they met in 2020.
The prosecutor said Connell had got angry the first time he was refused money to buy more drugs.
Richard Holliday, senior prosecutor for CPS North West, said: "We will never know what happened in the house leading up to Mr Patience's death or what Ian Connell's motivation was for attacking the man he claimed to love like family."
Connell is due to be sentenced next Wednesday.
Mr Patience qualified as an actuary in 2001 and did statistical analysis for pensions but became unwell from the "high pressure job".
He moved to Greater Manchester in around 2005 and set up a Domino's pizza restaurant franchise in Bury with one of his brothers.
His ex-wife Kirsty Banks said she met him while working there and they married in 2012, having three children.
But he had a car accident in 2015 that meant he was unable to work. He "started to drink more" and developed a painkiller addiction.
Mr Patience later left the family home and moved into the couple's previous address, which they had been renting out.
Ms Banks said her ex-husband began "hanging around" with a "dodgy" former tenant who introduced Connell to him.
Giving evidence, Connell said he had "never raised my hand to that man" and claimed he was asleep upstairs in a spare room and under the influence of heroin and crack cocaine when someone else strangled Mr Patience.
He said he "panicked" after he said he eventually discovered the body and went on to tell lies to police at the scene and in his initial interview with detectives.
Connell claimed the pair "hit it off straight away" and he went on to call Mr Patience "boss" as he did odd jobs for him such as painting and decorating, taking Layla for walks, and cleaning the house.
Connell said he had used heroin and crack cocaine from about the age of 19 and Mr Patience allowed him and others to use drugs at the house.
The jury heard Connell visited Mr Patience's home on the evening of August 19 and stayed in and around the address until police discovered the body.
Following the unanimous verdict, Connell told trial judge Mrs Justice Ellenbogen: "I know I'm not supposed to speak out of turn but I'm not guilty of this offence."
