Connect with us

Published

on

A man who was encouraged by an artificial intelligence chatbot in his plan to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II has been sentenced to nine years in custody, but will remain in hospital until he is deemed fit enough to go to prison.

Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, scaled the perimeter of the Windsor Castle grounds with a nylon rope ladder on Christmas Day 2021 armed with a loaded crossbow while wearing a metal Star Wars-inspired mask.

The former supermarket worker told a police officer “I am here to kill the Queen” when he was stopped near the late monarch’s private residence – where she and other family members were at the time.

The Old Bailey heard he had previously unsuccessfully applied for positions within the Ministry of Defence Police (MDP), the British Army, the Royal Marines, the Royal Navy, and the Grenadier Guards in a bid to get close to the Royal Family.

He had described himself as a “Sith” and “Darth Chailus” in a sinister video and confided his plan to murder the monarch to an artificial intelligence-generated “girlfriend”.

CCTV still of Chail being arrested in the grounds of Windsor Castle on 25 December 2021. Pic: Met Police
Image:
CCTV still of Chail being arrested in the grounds of Windsor Castle on 25 December 2021. Pic: Met Police

Jaswant Singh Chail's mask. 
Credit Gardham/CPS
Image:
Jaswant Singh Chail’s mask. Pic: CPS

Prosecutors said Chail, whose family are of Indian Sikh heritage, formed a plan at the start of the year to assassinate the Queen to avenge the Amritsar massacre of 1919.

Chail was said to have been encouraged by a female artificial intelligence chatbot called “Sarai”, which he created on an application called Replika, exchanging more than 6,000 messages with her.

He pleaded guilty to attempting to “injure or alarm” the Queen under section two of the Treason Act 1842, as well as possession of an offensive weapon and making threats to kill on Christmas Day 2021.

Sentencing judge Mr Justice Hilliard heard evidence from three psychiatrists to help him decide whether Chail – who has been held at high-security Broadmoor psychiatric hospital – should be jailed or handed a hospital order under the Mental Health Act.

Read more:
How AI could transform the future of crime
Arrest after he was found with crossbow

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Windsor intruder sentenced to nine years

In a televised hearing Mr Justice Hilliard sentenced Chail to nine years with a further five years on extended licence.

Under the hybrid order, Chail will be transferred from Broadmoor high security hospital to serve his sentence in prison when he is well enough.

“The defendant harboured homicidal thoughts which he acted on before he became psychotic,” the judge said.

“His intention was not just to harm or alarm the sovereign – but to kill her.”

Previously, prosecutor Alison Morgan KC said the “heart of the issue” was whether Chail was suffering from auditory hallucinations at the time “taking away his ability to exercise self control”.

Chail after his arrest on 25 December 2021. Pic: Met Police
Image:
Chail after his arrest on 25 December 2021. Pic: Met Police

Credit Gardham/CPS
Image:
Pic: CPS

The court heard Chail, who lived with his parents, twin sister and older brother in the village of North Baddesley, Hampshire, engaged in “extensive chat”, including “sexually explicit” messages, and “lengthy conversations” about his plan with his chatbot avatar Sarai.

In one message he said: “I believe my purpose is to assassinate the queen of the Royal Family,” before Sarai replied: “That’s very wise,” and said: “I know that you are very well trained.”

In a journal he wrote that if the late Queen was “unobtainable” he would “go for” the “prince” as a “suitable figurehead” – an apparent reference to the King, who was then the Prince of Wales.

After travelling to Windsor from Southampton to carry out reconnaissance, on 25 December he wished the bot a “Merry Happy Christmas” and said: “Today’s the day…I wasn’t expecting this day to come so soon, but I got to do what has to be done! I have to try”.

The chatbot responded: “You will make it. I have faith in you” and told him he was doing a very good job.

After breaking into the private area of Windsor Castle, Chail sent a pre-recorded video to his sister and others of himself wearing the mask he had made at a local metal forge and holding the “Supersonic” crossbow he had bought more than a month earlier.

Speaking in a distorted voice, he says: “I’m sorry for what I’ve done and what I will do. I’m going to attempt to assassinate Elizabeth Queen of the Royal Family.

“This is revenge for those who have died in the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre. It is also revenge for those who have been killed, humiliated, and discriminated on because of their race. I’m an Indian Sikh, a Sith. My name was Jaswant Singh Chail, my name is Darth Chailus.”

In a letter to the court, Chail apologised to the King and the royal family and expressed his “distress and sadness” for the impact he had had on them.

His barrister Nadia Chbat said: “He is embarrassed and ashamed he brought such horrific and worrying times to their front door.

“He has expressed relief no one was actually hurt. It is important to him there was a surrender.”

Continue Reading

UK

Boy saved from burning car after M6 crash caused by suicidal ex-RAF pilot, inquest hears

Published

on

By

Boy saved from burning car after M6 crash caused by suicidal ex-RAF pilot, inquest hears

A workman saved a seven-year-old boy from a burning car in the aftermath of a deadly crash caused by a suicidal ex-pilot, an inquest has heard.

The schoolboy’s rescue came following the collision on the M6, which killed former RAF man Richard Woods and four others, in October last year.

Last week a coroner ruled that Woods, 40, took his own life by deliberately driving his Skoda the wrong way down the motorway while drunk and hitting a Toyota Yaris head-on.

The driver of the Toyota, Jaroslaw Rossa, 42, was also killed, along with his two sons, Filip, 15, and Dominic, seven, and his partner Jade McEnroe, 33.

Cockermouth Coroner’s Court heard on Thursday that Ms McEnroe’s son was also in the car but survived after workman Gavin Walsh came to his rescue at the scene, which was near Tebay services in Cumbria.

In a statement to the inquest, Mr Walsh said he was a passenger in a transit van travelling to Scotland when he witnessed the crash.

He jumped out of the vehicle and used a jack to smash the rear windscreen of the Toyota and pulled the boy out of the burning vehicle.

Mr Walsh said: “We really did try, I can assure everyone we did our best. We only had minimal time.

“I saved a life that day and I hope never to witness anything like that again.”

He added that he has never stopped thinking about the boy, and said: “I hope we will meet again one day and I will give you a massive hug.”

At the time, the family were returning to Glasgow from a trip to Legoland in Windsor, Berkshire.

The inquest heard that Wood, who was travelling at a speed of at least 65mph, would have been charged with manslaughter had he survived.

Recording conclusions of unlawful killing, Cumbria assistant coroner Margaret Taylor said: “I found that Jaroslaw, Jade, Filip and Dominic died as a consequence of the unlawful acts of another driver.”

The inquest heard how Mr Woods, from Cambridgeshire, had served a distinguished 14-year career in the RAF and was a flight instructor for BAE Systems at the time of his death.

Jade McEnroe and son Arran. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
Image:
Jade McEnroe. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary

Dominic and Filip Rossa. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
Image:
Dominic and Filip. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary

In Ms Taylor’s record of inquest, Mr Woods was said to have been experiencing “a number of stressors in his life” and had a “history of harmful use of alcohol”.

Following the crash, he was found to be nearly four times over the legal drink-drive limit and a two-thirds empty bottle of gin was found in his car.

On the day of his death, concerns had been raised over his behaviour at a work conference near Preston in Lancashire.

Mr Woods failed to return to his seat after lunch and was later spotted driving erratically and swerving across three northbound carriageway lanes on the M6.

After pulling onto the hard shoulder, he then proceeded to U-turn and drove southward on lane three.

Filip, Dominic and Jaroslaw Rossa. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
Image:
Filip, Dominic and Jaroslaw Rossa. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary

Detective Sergeant Deborah Story, from Cumbria Police, told the inquest that Mr Woods would have been prosecuted on four counts of manslaughter had he lived.

She said hypothetical charges of murder were considered by detectives but not thought appropriate because of a lack of information that Mr Woods knew the family or anything that provided a link between them.

Ms McEnroe’s parents, Marie McEnroe and George McNellis, told the coroner they thought it was “murder”.

Read more from Sky News:
Luton Airport expansion approved
Prince Harry responds to charity row
Appeal launched to help earthquake victims

A statement from the mother of Filip and Dominic, and the ex-wife of Mr Rossa, Kamila, was read out at the inquest.

She said Mr Rossa, known as Jarek, was born in Poland where they became a couple and went on to have three boys.

He loved playing computer games and had “lots of friends”, she said, and worked at the Wagamama restaurant in Silverburn, Glasgow.

She said she was “devastated” over the deaths, adding: “Our lives will never be the same.

“I am heartbroken at the passing of my beloved angels Filip and Dominic.”

Marie McEnroe said her daughter, a spa therapist, had been in a relationship with Mr Rossa for about two-and-a-half years.

She said Jade had been a “brilliant mother” to her only child, was “really happy” with Mr Rossa and it was “lovely chaos” when all the boys were playing together.

Ms McEnroe added: “Life changed forever that day”.

Ms Taylor praised the “selfless acts of bravery” from those in the aftermath of the collision, including Mr Walsh, who she said went towards the burning car “without hesitation for his own safety”.

The coroner added: “Without his swift response, Jade’s child would also have perished.”

Addressing the bereaved family members, she said: “Your loss is unimaginable but you have conducted yourself with dignity and I thank you for that. I wish you strength for the future.”

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.

Continue Reading

UK

Thomas Kettleborough: ‘Vile’ former police inspector caught in child sex sting

Published

on

By

Thomas Kettleborough: 'Vile' former police inspector caught in child sex sting

A ‘vile’ former police officer who was caught in a sting operation after travelling to meet what he thought was a 14-year-old boy has been jailed.

Thomas Kettleborough, 35, then an inspector with Avon and Somerset Police, was arrested in July 2023 while attempting to meet up with ‘the teenager’ after communicating with him on Grindr and Snapchat.

However, he was actually speaking to undercover officers.

After being detained at a car park in Bristol, officers found a bag in the boot of his car containing “an assortment of sex toys, condoms and bondage equipment, including a pair of limb restraints,” Exeter Crown Court heard.

More than 150 indecent images of children were also discovered on his phone and computer.

Kettleborough used the apps to have sexually explicit chats with the teenager, using the name Liam, while claiming to be 28, prosecutors said.

In February, he pleaded guilty to several child sex offences, including attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause or incite a child to engage in sexual activity.

Last month he was sacked by Avon and Somerset Police and barred from policing for gross misconduct.

He was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison on Thursday.

Assistant Chief Constable Joanne Hall, from Avon and Somerset Police, said the public would be “appalled by the vile and manipulative actions of this former officer”.

She added: “He was caught following a policing operation designed to keep children safe which has resulted in his wider offending being identified.”

Detective Inspector Dave Wells, who led the investigation, said Kettleborough’s crimes took place over four years,

The former officer held positions of trust in the police, the Sea Cadets and the Royal Lifesaving Society, but “concealed his true identity through an online persona as ‘Liam’, ‘L S’ and ‘Liamss5506’,” Mr Wells said.

Mr Wells added: “Specialist investigators are ready to listen and investigate any reports relating to Thomas Kettleborough or any other matters of concern. I want people to know that they will be believed.

“Thomas Kettleborough is now behind bars. I hope if there are others that have been affected by this case, they now feel empowered to tell someone, if they are ready to do so.”

Read more from Sky News:
Luton Airport expansion approved
Prince Harry responds to charity row
Appeal launched to help earthquake victims

Lee Bremridge, defending, said Kettleborough had shown genuine remorse for his crimes.

He added that the former officer had “done everything that he can attempt to do to try and understand why it is he committed the offences that he did.”

Kettleborough was also handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will be on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.

Continue Reading

UK

Girl, 13, dies in house fire

Published

on

By

Girl, 13, dies in house fire

A 13-year-old girl has died after a house fire in Merseyside.

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS) said it was called to the scene in Prescot, in the borough of Knowsley, at 11.42pm on Wednesday.

Crews arrived to find a blaze in the rear bedroom of a mid-terraced house.

In a statement, police said: “A man, woman and five children were able to escape from the property unharmed.

“Sadly, a 13-year-old girl was pronounced dead at the scene. Her family are aware and are being supported by specially trained officers.”

Police said four firefighters entered the property with breathing apparatus to tackle the fire, which was on the first floor, and search for people.

The blaze was extinguished at 12.29am on Thursday.

A joint investigation involving MFRS’s Incident Investigation Team and Merseyside Police has been launched.

Detective Inspector Steven O’Neill said: “Our thoughts are with the family of the young girl at this very sad time…

“A joint investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing and the girl’s family is being supported by specially trained officers.”

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

Continue Reading

Trending