Eastbourne Murder Sites - St Annes Park, The Avenue, Eastbourne

Murder Site

St Annes Park, The Avenue, Eastbourne

Date - 13th November 2003
Victim - Anthony Raymond Sims (1947-2003)
Murderer - Kim David Alan Chesham (1964- )

Drunk Loser Gets Life    

Tuesday 6 July 2004  

An alcoholic who admitted beating and kicking a fellow drinker to death over a previous conviction has been jailed for life.

Kim David Alan Chesham, 39, 'lost control' in St Anne's Park last November after Anthony Simms started to 'wind him up' about locking his former landlady in a room while drunk.Chesham, who was said to be embarrassed about the conviction, then went and sat on a nearby bench in the hope the 56-year-old father-of-one would wake up.Later he returned to his home in South Street and confessed the murder to police, telling them he had blood over his hands and feet.Police found Mr Simms' body close to a bench in the park, lying under a blanket.Lewes Crown Court heard Chesham later claimed he had heard voices saying 'bad things', but doctors could find no evidence of serious mental problems.Simon Russell-Flint QC, prosecuting, told the court Tony Simms was a 'loving, compassionate and caring' married father-of-one who lived alone due to his drink problem.He said the pair had been drinking cider on a park bench and their conversations had become more heated as the day went on.Mr Russell-Flint said, 'At about 10.55pm the police received a call from the defendant who said he thought he had killed someone.'He said, 'I've got blood over my hands and feet. I know I've done it'. He said he was a paranoid schizophrenic although this is not an opinion shared by experts.He then said, 'I put my hands up to it, I think I've killed someone. I was drinking with someone, my hands are covered in blood. I didn't mean to do it'.'When he opened the door to police he appeared to be unkempt, he appeared to be distressed, he was shaking and his eyes were red. He said he had planned to kill himself that evening.'Officers found Mr Simms with a blanket on him having suffered severe facial injuries. These included a fractured nose, fractured cheekbone, bruising, abrasions and fractures to his ribs.'The defendant told doctors he had heard voices which said bad things. The back of his hand was swollen consistent with him having punched somebody.'Jeremy Gold QC, defending Chesham who has a history of violence, told the court the attack had been sparked by a previous conviction the defendant had for false imprisonment.He said, 'They were perhaps acquaintances rather than friends and this unhappy case is the result of a drunken brawl between them.'This followed from some provocation from Mr Simms, we assert. Harsh words were said in drink but nothing justified what followed.'He accepts that he punched and kicked Mr Simms to death. He has been, and remains, racked with remorse.'There came a time when the drinking became more intense that Anthony Simms made it aware that he knew the details of the defendant's last conviction, a false imprisonment matter.'The conviction was a source of much embarrassment because it involved an incident when drunk when he detained his landlady in a room against her will.'He had behaved belligerently and the police were called.'He was not aware Anthony Simms knew about it and thought it had been mentioned in an effort to wind him up.'Mr Chesham challenged Mr Simms to a fight. He accepts Mr Simms was reluctant but then took a swing and missed and Mr Chesham pushed him to the ground and lost control of himself.'Jailing Chesham, who admitted murder, Judge Anthony Scott-Gall branded the offence a 'dreadful assault'.He said, 'The only sentence I can impose on you is one of life imprisonment.'The presence of a degree of mental abnormality, the absence of any intent to kill, the guilty plea and your contrition act in your favour but an aggravating feature is your propensity to violence when in drink.'You will serve a sentence of 12 years imprisonment before you are eligible for parole

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