Agony for mum and dad of vulnerable man

Jan 30 2010 by Sophie Doughty, The Journal

THE PARENTS of murder victim Andrew Gardner tortured to death in a sadistic killing, say no punishment will ever be enough for their son’s killers.

Andrew, 35, suffered a slow agonising death after he became trapped in the twisted world of his girlfriend Clare Nicholls.

Along with her brother Simon Nicholls and her on-off lover Steven Martin, the mother-of-four battered, burned, and starved vulnerable Andrew at the house they all shared in Chilton, County Durham.

The trio are today all facing lengthy prison sentences for the role they played in Andrew’s death.

But his parents Jean and Ken, of Bensham, Gateshead, say no punishment will ever be enough for what they did to their gentle loving son.

Ken, 56, said: “You would just never imagine that these things could happen. They should bring back hanging.”

“It’s like a dream we just want to be woken from. It’s just going round and round all the time. You try to think of something else and you just can’t.

“This will haunt us for the rest of our lives. We have no chance of ever forgetting it.”

As one of three boys Andrew had a normal happy childhood growing up in Gateshead.

He suffered from learning difficulties and went to Joicey Road Special School. His parents said he was always a loving gentle lad who would shy away from any trouble.

And this vulnerability was enough to make him powerless to escape the clutches of Nicholls once she cast her sinister spell over him.