Family who kept man as slave before chopping off his head and dumping him in lake guilty of 'Blue Lagoon murder'



Tortured: Michael Gilbert's butchered body was found in a lake

A gang of sadists who tortured a 'naive and vulnerable' man for ten years before dumping his decapitated body into a lake were convicted of his murder yesterday.

Michael Gilbert, 26, was used as a 'dogsbody and slave', shackled to a bed and attacked by the group's pet pit bulls.

In one bizarre incident, he was even made to goad a large exotic lizard until it attacked him.

The appalling beatings - often recorded on mobile phones - included being stabbed, hit with a baseball bat, forced to stand in boiling water and shot at with an air pistol.

His main tormentor's girlfriend even invented a 'game show' where individuals were paid to assault him.

Although Mr Gilbert did escape occasionally, the gang would contact the Department for Work and Pensions and quote his national insurance number to discover where he was signing on before snatching him back.

Astonishingly, police were aware he was in trouble but he didn't want to pursue a complaint because the victim had said 'it would make it worse for me in the long run'.

Mr Gilbert finally died after a new form of torture was devised, involving members of the family jumping on his stomach.

They then hacked his corpse into pieces at their home in Luton, Bedfordshire, before throwing it into a lake known as the Blue Lagoon in nearby Arlesey.

Some parts of his body, including the torso, hands and feet, were found by two dog walkers last year, while others, including his head, were only recovered in February.

Yesterday, ringleader James Watt, 27, his girlfriend Natasha Oldfield, 29, and his brother Richard's girlfriend Nichola Roberts, 21, were convicted of murder.

Richard Watt was sentenced to six years in prison and Jennifer Smith-Dennis was jailed for 10 years

James Watt and his girlfriend Natasha Oldfield were jailed for life today

Robert Watt and Nichola Roberts were found guilty at Luton Crown Court



Another of James Watt's brothers, Robert, 20, and his mother Jennifer Smith-Dennis, were found guilty of familial homicide. Richard admitted the same charge.

All were also convicted of perverting the course of justice. They will be sentenced on Monday.

The men's father, former builder Antonio Watt, 70, was acquitted of familial homicide and perverting the course of justice.

Judge John Bevan told the jurors that they had sat through 'ghastly' evidence and excused any from being called for jury service again.

After the hearing, Mr Gilbert's mother, Rosalie, 49, focused her anger on Smith-Dennis.

'What sort of woman would allow the things we heard about to go on in her home and for all those years?' she said.

'You raise your kids to be the best they can be, not cold-blooded murderers. That mother could have done something to help Michael and never did.'

Officers pull a bag containing Michael Gilbert's body from the lagoon

Michael Gilbert's body parts were found in a prison bag which had been thrown into a lake

Mr Gilbert's torso was found by two anglers. His head, knee joints and elbow were discovered in a separate bag

Mr Gilbert's brother Chrissy, 31, said that although his brother had had a happy childhood, his 'naive' personality made him easy prey for the Watt family.

His habit of 'taking off to do his own thing' for long periods of time meant he eventually became estranged from his own family and ended up in a children's home aged 15 where he met James Watt.

Prosecutor Stuart Trimmer, QC, told Luton Crown Court: 'He was without anyone with the power to break his bondage to this family.'







The court heard evidence from witnesses including Philip Budd, a regular visitor to the Watts' home, who said Mr Gilbert had locking pliers attached to his genitals which were used to lead him around 'like a dog on a lead'.

Zoe Smith, 23, described how Mr Gilbert was shackled with silver handcuffs to the bottom of a bunk bed she slept in with her boyfriend Colin Watt, who was not charged with any offence.

During the three-year relationship, she admitted to visiting the home on around 150 occasions and seeing Mr Gilbert assaulted 'nearly every time'.

The abuse continued as the Watts moved into a succession of different houses in the town.



Mr Budd said that by 2008 Mr Gilbert was only allowed to wear boxer shorts to prevent him escaping.

Another visitor described watching him being shot in the lower back with an air rifle. A postmortem examination would later reveal pellets still embedded in his body.

Two anglers found Mr Gilbert's decapitated body in the Blue Lagoon in Arlesey, Bedfordshire

Oldfield was found to have written an entry in her diary entitled 'Game Show Ideas'. Underneath, she suggested 'various sums of money linked to different assaults on Michael'.



One line said: '£5 slap, £10 punch, £15 kick, £25 head butt.' Another read: 'Gilbert ends up dead.'

As well as 'entertainment', the family also saw Mr Gilbert as a 'cash cow' and would often take his benefits.



By the end of 2008, they were doing sit ups while leaning on a piece of wood across his mouth and jumping on his stomach. One of those was Robert Watt, who weighed 21st at the time.

Mr Gilbert is believed to have died from his injuries on January 21 last year.

Detective Chief Inspector Jon Humphries yesterday insisted nothing more could have been done to save Mr Gilbert. 'Hindsight is a wonderful thing,' he added.

The Luton Safeguarding Of Vulnerable Adults Board is to set up a serious case review into his death.



Family that revelled in crime

Long before the Watt family were arrested for the murder of Michael Gilbert they had developed a reputation as Luton's most notorious antisocial neighbours.

Residents revealed how they would typically arrive in an area late at night, shattering its peace within a matter of days. Calm only returned when the family moved on or were forced out.



The Watts also kept a large number of animals including pit bull-type dogs to enhance their stature in their neighbourhood, and exotic giant lizards, one of which was used to attack Mr Gilbert.

Crime scene: The house where the torture took place

James Watt's bedroom where Mr Gilbert's body was butchered

At one property, RSPCA vans and police in riot gear were drafted in when the family was evicted.

None of Watts worked except the father, Antonio, now 70, who was employed at a local building firm.

In court, it emerged that the brothers' 'ringleader', James Watt, 27, had 14 previous convictions for 22 different offences, including affray and shooting someone with an airgun. His brother Robert, 20, had two convictions, including battery and theft.

Victim: Michael Gilbert aged 14

Even the women in their lives had criminal records. James's girlfriend, mother-oftwo Natasha Oldfield, 29, had been cautioned for affray.

Richard Watt's girlfriend Nichola Roberts, 21, had four convictions and a caution, all for leaving a petrol station without paying for fuel.

Only the matriarch of the family, diminutive Jennifer Smith-Dennis, 58, had an unblemished record - in the eyes of the law, at least - until her conviction for familial homicide.

Social services were involved with the family at one stage after Robert was put on the At Risk Register and education services had been called in when the brothers were of school age because they regularly skipped lessons.

Former neighbours said the brothers carried baseball bats and knives claiming it was 'for their own protection'. One, who asked not to be named, said: 'They were rude, noisy and a nightmare.

'They would ride these noisy motorbikes up and down the street and I remember hearing that bars of soap had been pushed through their letter box because they were such a dirty bunch.'

Another former neighbour, again too terrified to be identified, added: 'I had to have CCTV installed because the boys were coming on to my property, and tormenting my wife and daughter by peering through the window at them when I wasn't there.

'The neighbourhood was a nightmare and people were running scared of them.'

Another man, describing how his family had been intimidated by the Watts brothers, said: 'It was a life of hell, not just for my family but the surrounding neighbours.

'It was a constant nightmare, constant phoning up the police. Officers doing nothing, the family living in fear. They would pick on the vulnerable more than anything else.'







