Charity trustee jailed for 25 years for killing fellow board member

A charity trustee has been jailed for 25 years for murdering a fellow board member amid a ‘festering’ dispute about the gardens the pair helped to run for the charity Lake Community Gardens.

Jonathan Stasiuk, 60, pleaded guilty on 14 November for murdering fellow trustee, Gerry White, 73, in the Isle of Wight on 27 May 2019.

The pair were both on the trustee board of the Lake Community Gardens charity, a charitable nature reserve in the Isle of Wight. White was a former Conservative councillor.

According to The Telegraph, the trial heard that Stasiuk had killed White over a series of ‘trivial’ differences in relation to the running of the gardens.

Judge Christopher Parker QC said Stasiuk had ‘obsessed’ over ‘perceived grievances that may not have any foundation whatsoever’ to an extent that allowed them to ‘build up into a form of hatred’.

After the attack, Stasiuk phoned the police to tell them what had happened, directing them to the scene, which took place at the charity’s property.

He initially denied murdering White, instead pleading guilty to manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility, but he later changed his plea to guilty.

He was sentenced to 25 years on prison on 14 November.