Killer copied torture scene from horror film Saw by slicing through victim’s spinal cord to make him reveal his PIN number

Matthew Tinling murdered Richard Hamilton by stabbing him 17 times

Old Bailey hears he mimicked scenes from Grisly film Saw VI

Tinling jailed for at least 30 years for 'savage and obviously prolonged' killing

A killer who mimicked a torture scene from the notorious horror film Saw by chopping through his victim's spine was jailed for at least 30 years today.



Matthew Tinling, 25, knifed former soldier neighbour Richard Hamilton 17 times in the head, neck and legs in a 'savage and prolonged' murder.



At the climax of the frenzied attack, he aped a brutal moment from the famed horror franchise by trying to sever the 45-year-old's spinal cord.



Tinling tortured Mr Hamilton to get him to hand over the PIN for his bank account and later withdrew £240 to spend on crack cocaine.

Brutal: Murderer Matthew Tinling (left) exacted terrible torture on Richard Hamilton (right), recreating a scene from a Saw VI by hacking through his spine



Detectives were able to pinpoint the time of the killing using CCTV footage showing Mr Hamilton's curtains twitching in the early hours of the morning.



Tinling denied murder but was convicted after an Old Bailey trial.



Judge Timothy Pontius jailed him for life with a minimum term of 30 years for the 'savage and obviously prolonged' killing.

Terrifying: Tinling was inspired by the grisly 2009 hit film Saw VI, starring Shawnee Smith (pictured)

He said: 'You inflicted 17 wounds during the attack, the most serious of which was delivered specifically with the intention of severing the spinal cord, thus to cause paralysis and death, exactly as you had seen on a DVD.



'Whether or not that was Saw 6, found by the police in your room, or another in the series doesn't matter.



'Plainly it was something you had seen and tried to imitate.'



Tinling was brought to court in handcuffs after attacking a prison officer while on remand following his conviction.



He showed no emotion as the sentence was passed.



The killer targeted his victim at the homeless hostel in Shirland Road, Maida Vale, west London, where the pair lived.



Mr Hamilton is believed to have been killed at around 2am on March 28 last year.



He had not been seen for weeks before his dead body was discovered.



Mr Hamilton was known to have more money than the other residents because he received £197 disability allowance every fortnight on top of £272 in other benefits.



'That was to be his ultimate downfall,' said prosecutor Zoe Johnson QC.

Controversial: The Saw series has been incredibly successful but its ultra-violent scenes have been widely criticised

After forcing Mr Hamilton to reveal his PIN, Tinling used it to withdraw £240 from the victim's account on April 8.



The next day another resident went into Mr Hamilton's room and found his decomposing body lying next to the heavy curtains.



He had been stabbed 21 times to the head, neck and legs, including a fatal injury to the jugular vein.

Trial: The Old Bailey heard how Hamilton had not been seen for weeks before his dead body was discovered in Maida Vale

Mr Hamilton's bank and Post Office account cards were not recovered but Tinling's DNA was recovered from the plastic wallet used to store them.



Tinling denied involvement but was linked to the scene by his DNA on the bedroom curtains and on a credit card holder.



The same camera that caught the twitching curtains also captured Tinling leaving the building to dump several plastic bags in bins.



Patrick Upward QC, defending, said: 'What you must remember is the circumstances in which these unfortunate men lived together.



'They were driven by the need for drugs and some times the use and abuse of alcohol.



'That can lead to fiery temperaments reacting a way which can lead to awful tragedy.'



