Brian Blackwell: The Teenager Who Murdered His Parents and Stole Their Money

Brian Blackwell left the bodies and spent £30,000 on a luxury holiday

By Jacob WilkinsPublished 4 years ago • 3 min read

Brian Blackwell: The Teenager Who Murdered His Parents and Stole Their Money

From an outsider's perspective, Brian Blackwell was the perfect son. He was a clever, athletic, and ambitious student who attended Liverpool College, a fee-paying school in the west of England. He planned to study Medicine at one of the best educational institutions in the country: Nottingham University.

But Brian's bright future was shattered by his own unthinkable acts of cruelty. On the 25th of July 2004, the eighteen-year-old brutally murdered his mother and father before using their money to fund a luxurious holiday with his girlfriend.

Brian's Personality Disorder

On the surface, Brian's actions appeared to be the actions of a psychopath, but the truth is more complex.

Brian suffered from a condition called Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). Those who suffer from this condition experience a lack of empathy, the need for admiration, and a tendency to fantasize about their own brilliance.

Brian, like many others with NPD, was a deceitful individual who lied constantly. He lied to his girlfriend Amal (who also attended Liverpool College) about his tennis career, saying that he was an international player with a Nike sponsorship deal. This was nonsense. Though Brian had a gift for tennis, he certainly wasn't a professional.

Brian then tried to build a fantasy lifestyle around his fake tennis career. Using the money his parents had put aside to help him through university, Brian bought his girlfriend a new car. He also started to use his parents' credit cards without their permission.

Of course, Brian's parents eventually realized what he was doing and told him to stop. But unfortunately for them, Brian wouldn't let anything stand in the way of his fantasy lifestyle.

Teenage Murderer

On the day of the murder, Brian stole his father's credit card again. He spent £5,000 on two business-class tickets to New York for him and Amal. Brian's parents realized the money was missing and confronted him.

Only Brian knows exactly what happened next. But given his tendency to lie, he's hardly a reliable witness. However, based on forensic evidence, Brian attacked his parents with a hammer and a ten-inch kitchen knife. He stabbed his father thirty times, and he stabbed his mother twenty times.

Those who've examined the case have linked Brian's personality disorder to the murders. He needed large sums of money in order to sustain the lies he told his girlfriend. When his parents found out about the business-class tickets, the fantasy lifestyle Brian had built for himself threatened to fall apart.

Luxury Abroad

Having committed the murders, Brian left the bodies behind and prepared himself for the holiday of a lifetime.

Brian and Amal flew from Manchester to New York using the expensive business-class tickets. Together, they stayed in a luxurious suite in the Plaza Hotel near Central Park. They ate and drank lavishly, and Brian acted normally throughout their stay. Amal had no idea that she was sharing a bed with a murderer.

After New York, they traveled to Florida, San Francisco, and Barbados. Brian continued to spend excessively, and he also pretended to be in contact with his parents.

By the time Brian and Amal landed back in Britain, they had spent £30,000.

Game Over

After claiming his parents were on holiday in Spain, Brian stayed at Amal's house for the next few weeks. When the couple went to collect their A-level results, Brian discovered that he had achieved A grades in all his subjects.

But Brian's time was running out. On the 5th of September 2004, a neighbor became aware of a terrible smell coming from the Blackwell household. He also noticed swarms of flies inside the home.

The police were contacted, and Brian soon became the prime suspect. At first, he claimed that he couldn't have committed the murders because he was on holiday with Amal. However, he eventually broke down during questioning and confessed his crime to the police.

During the subsequent trial at Liverpool Crown Court, Brian's lawyers highlighted their client's personality disorder and claimed he was guilty of manslaughter, not murder.

On the 29th of June 2005, Brian Blackwell was found guilty of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of twelve years.