A man who ‘celebrated’ murdering a convicted child sex offender has been sentenced to life in prison. Anthony Gardiner, 66, went to the home of John Coxon, 76, and violently attacked him on January 12, 2022.
Coxon – who was a registered child sex offender – sustained a head injury and died in hospital on March 25. Judge Martin Picton jailed Gardiner for life and ordered him to spend a minimum term of 20 years in prison.
He told the killer: “You are a highly dangerous man and there is no sign whatsoever that the passing of the years is reducing your risk to the public.”
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Judge Picton described it as a “brutal attack” and said Gardiner knew how frail Coxon was, and that he must have appreciated the risk an attack such as this carried.
He added: “You have not shown a shred of remorse for what you have done, rather the exact opposite. You appear to celebrate the fact that you have killed another human being.”
Bristol Crown Court heard on Friday (December 17 that) Gardiner from Stroud, Gloucestershire, pleaded guilty to the murder in December 2024.
He had attacked Coxon in his home on Park Road in January 2022 which resulted in him being hospitalised with a head injury.
Gardiner was arrested, and after Coxon died in hospital on March 25, 2022, he was rearrested on suspicion of his murder and charged after medical reports confirmed the cause of death.
The court heard Coxon, who had Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes, was a registered sex offender – and this was known in the local community and by his killer.
In 2017 he breached his parole by speaking to a girl when he passed her home – and Gardiner knew this as she was a relative of his.
The court was told there was no evidence of the conversation being of a sexual nature, and that the breach related to unsupervised contact with that child.
The court also heard that Gardiner, who has a long history of violence and criminality, exploited Coxon for financial gain.
Four years later, Coxon went to his bank accompanied by Gardiner and asked to withdraw up to £500 to give to Gardiner as a reward for finding his lost wallet.
However, staff alerted police and Coxon was taken home. Coxon required care workers who visited his home twice a day as he lived with Alzheimer’s and had severely advanced type 2 diabetes which had impacted his health.
And then on January 12, 2022 Mr Coxon was found on the floor of his kitchen by one of his carers.
He was taken to hospital with facial injuries, and a scan revealed he had a bleed on the brain from a traumatic brain injury.
This led to infections and his cause of death was kidney failure, and therefore the traumatic head injury contributed in a significant way to his death.
Gardiner was arrested before Coxon died after he had told others he had gone to his home and stamped on his head.
His trainers were seized and forensic tests revealed they had Mr Coxon’s blood on them. In police interview Mr Gardiner initially denied being responsible for the assault.
He then made admissions to prison guards while he was in custody for other offences, and he later wrote to police from prison saying he wanted to “come clean” and asked to be interviewed again.
In another police interview he said a relative had taken their own life as a result of Mr Coxon abusing them – however this was not true.
There is no evidence to support any suggestion of contact between Mr Coxon and Gardiner’s family, other than when he spoke to a relative in 2017.
Gardiner later wrote a letter to police fully accepting what he had done, and he then pleaded guilty in court.
It was said in court that while Gardiner wanted to cause serious harm to Mr Coxon in what was a pre-meditated attack, there is no evidence that he set out with an intention to kill him.
The court was told that it was unclear why Gardiner attacked Mr Coxon that day as he had known about his prior convictions and lived close to him for some years.
A statement from Mr Coxon’s brother was read to the court in which he said no-one should be subjected to what was inflicted on Mr Coxon.
Gardiner has previous convictions which include robbery, wounding with intent, assault, battery, shoplifting, drug and driving offences.
He has been in prison serving a five-year sentence for his part in robbing a disabled man of his wallet in May 2022.
He had grabbed the man, who had Parkinson’s disease, by the neck and squeezed it until he handed over his wallet.
In court Gardiner represented himself after he chose to have no legal team. In an expletive laden speech to the court, Mr Gardiner blamed Covid for Mr Coxon’s death and he showed no remorse for his actions.
Following the sentencing, Detective Inspector Adam Stacey said: “Gardiner had exploited Mr Coxon for money and later attacked him inside his own home, leaving him injured on the floor.
“He has now admitted his actions and has been sentenced for them, and he will spend a lengthy amount of time behind bars.”
