Nikitta Grender trial: Boyfriend's cousin Carl Whant guilty of rape and killing pregnant teenager
- Carl Whant yawned as jury delivered guilty verdicts before he is jailed for life with minimum tariff of 35 years
- Killer, 27, torched Nikitta Grender's flat in attempt to disguise crimes
- Nikitta's parents say: 'For us to see our grandchild for the first time in a mortuary was the most heartbreaking thing we've ever had to do'
- Heavily pregnant teenager two weeks from giving birth
- Father-to-be Ryan Mayes, 17, had vowed to be 'perfect dad'
- Whant took flowers to her grieving family as he tried to cover up
By Rob Cooper
Last updated at 2:48 PM on 22nd February 2012
Mother-to-be: Nikitta Grender, 19, who was raped and killed by her boyfriend's cousin Carl Whant
A former nightclub bouncer was today jailed for life for raping and murdering a young mother-to-be in her home just two weeks before she was due to give birth.
Heavily pregnant Nikitta Grender, 19, was repeatedly stabbed in an attack by Carl Whant in her flat.
Tattooed Whant raped Miss Grender, who was the girlfriend of his closest friend and cousin Ryan Mayes, then slashed her throat and stabbed her in the abdomen.
In an attempt to disguise his crimes, he then set fire to her home in Newport, south Wales, which was ready for the imminent arrival of baby Kelsey May.
The blaze also claimed the life of Miss Grender's pet dog which was discovered burning by a frantic neighbour.
But 'arrogant' and calculating killer Whant, who left Miss Grender's parents sickened with his claims that he had consensual sex with their daughter just hours before her death, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 35 years today.
Father-of-one Whant appeared to yawn as the jury at Newport Crown Court unanimously found him guilty of murder, rape, child destruction and arson.
Mr Mayes looked at Whant and shook his head gently at each verdict.
Despite throwing away the murder weapon, Whant, 27, of Bettws, near Newport, was caught after DNA evidence was found at the scene and in his car.
The jury rejected his claim that the reason he was driving near Miss Grender's flat near sunrise was to 'pick up fags' from his grandmother's house.
The bouncer returned to the party he had left more than an hour later without cigarettes and coolly slept on the sofa before leaving for work.
After the verdict, Nikitta's parents Marcia Grender and Paul Brunnock said today in an emotional statement: 'For us to see our grandchild for the first time in a mortuary was the most heartbreaking thing we've ever had to do.'
As he handed down his sentence, Judge Mr Justice Griffith Williams told Whant he was 'calculating and devious'.
He told the defendant that he had left a party on the night of the teenager's murder and went to her flat because 'you fancied Nikitta and wanted to have sex with her'.
He said that because he knew that she would not agree, 'you went armed with a knife, prepared to rape her.
'The likelihood is that she let you in, believing that Ryan was with you.'
The judge told Whant that the murder of Ms Grender had 'left her family, Ryan Mayes, and her friends bereft.
'The subsequent loss was compounded by the knowledge that her murderer had raped her and then tried to destroy her body.
'The grief was made all the more deep because you did not scruple to make the wholly false allegation that she had consensual sex with you.'
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Guilty: Carl Whant, 27, raped and murdered his own cousin's pregnant girlfriend Nikitta Grender, 19, two weeks before she was due to give birth
The judge said Whant had acted with 'quite extraordinary hypocrisy' after the murder of the teenager was discovered.
'You even took flowers to the Grender household.'
He added that the 6ft 3in bouncer was a 'calculating, vain and devious' individual and said that the full facts of what happened in the early hours of February 5 last year may never be known.
But he added: 'The explanation for these crimes lies in part in your vanity.'
Grief: Nikitta's father Paul Brunnock and mother Marcia Grender make an emotional statement after Whant was jailed
'TO SEE OUR GRANDCHILD FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A MORTUARY WAS HEARTBREAKING'
The grief-stricken parents of murdered mother-to-be Nikitta Grender described the first time they saw their dead granddaughter as the most harrowing experience of their lives.
Kelsey-May was due to arrive in the world around February 21 last year, but she was killed just two weeks beforehand.
Miss Grender's uncle Michael Brunnock said his brother Paul and his niece's mother Marcia Grender had found the events of the past 12 months incredibly difficult.
Speaking on behalf of Miss Grender's family, as well as Ryan Mayes, he said: 'Nikitta was so young and beautiful. Together with Ryan, they were to become very proud set of parents to Kelsey-May.
'This has been ripped from them by Carl Whant, who has never had the decency to tell us the truth.
'For us to see our grandchild for the first time in a mortuary was the most heartbreaking thing we have ever had to do.
'The last 12 months has been harder for us than you could ever imagine. We remain in total disbelief as to what happened.
'We will never deal with the tragic events that have stolen our family from us, but we hope we can at least start to understand what has happened.'
Mr Brunnock also praised the work of Gwent Police and the Crown Prosecution Service in getting justice for their family.
After the verdict was delivered in court, Miss Grender's father approached prosecuting barrister Gregg Taylor to thank the leading QC - while family and friends embraced in tears of relief and joy.
'You told the police that she was "feisty" and in my view she told you that she was going to report you to the police for raping her, and that is why you murdered her.'
Father-to-be Ryan Mayes and Nikitta were 'well-prepared' for the birth of their baby girl - and had bought a cot and pram ready for the big day.
But on the night of Miss Grender's death, Mr Mayes went for a night-out with family and friends and returned to discover her dead in the burned-out flat.
During the trial, prosecutor Greg Taylor said: 'Nikitta was alone at home in the flat in the early hours where she should have been safe for the rest of the night.
'Her boyfriend Ryan was out in pubs, nightclubs and a house party with his cousin Whant.
'Someone entered that flat, someone raped her, someone murdered her and in the process destroyed her unborn child.
'She was stabbed right through the neck cutting her carotid artery.
'She was also stabbed in her stomach and the knife penetrated the unborn baby.'
The court heard the bed Miss Grender was found lying in was deliberately set on fire.
Mr Taylor said: 'This was an attempt to cover up these crimes making it appear Nikitta Grender had died in a tragic house fire. The man who did that was Carl Whant.'
He added: 'Nikitta fell pregnant and was expecting her child in February 2011. They moved into a new flat the previous September - Nikitta’s mother lived around the corner to help her out.
'Nikitta visited the midwife regularly with Ryan and they were both looking forward to the birth of their child.
'Nikitta and Ryan knew the baby was going to be a girl and had already given her the name Kelsey-May.
'They had decorated one room in the flat and had bought a cot and pram - they were well prepared.'
Killer: Whant, 27, with his girlfriend Rachel Bird who gave evidence against him in the month-long murder trial at Newport Crown Court
Thug: Tattooed Whant, a 6ft 3in bouncer, was jailed for a minimum term of 35 years after unanimously being found guilty by the jury today
Guilty: Police mugshot of murderer Carl Whant who was today jailed for 35 years
Mr Taylor told how Miss Grender disliked Whant - and ruled out that she had consented to sex with him.
He said: 'It was common knowledge that Nikitta disliked Carl Whant - he was a self-confessed cocaine user and she thought he was a bad influence on Ryan.'
Mr Taylor said firefighters arrived to see smoke billowing out of the windows of the first-floor flat.
Mr Taylor said: 'The fire was started deliberately there is no doubt about that. It was to mask the murder.
'The firefighters broke through the door and inched their way across the floor when a five-foot ball of flame rolled across the ceiling from Nikitta’s bedroom.
'When they got into that room they could see Nikitta’s body on the bed. It was heavily charred.'
Miss Grender was just 5ft 3in and weighed 7st 10lbs even though she was heavily pregnant.
Her parents Marcia Grender and Paul Brunnock said today following the verdict: 'Nikitta was so young and beautiful and together with Ryan they were to become a very proud set of parents to Kelsey-May.
'This has been ripped from them by Carl Whant who has never had the decency to tell us the truth.
'We will never deal with the tragic events that have stolen our family from us.
'But we hope we can at least start to understand what has happened.'
Serviceman: Carl Whant, 27, when he was in the Welsh Guards a few years ago
Detective Chief Superintendent Geoff Ronayne said police and the Crown Prosecution Service had 'worked tirelessly and thoroughly' to put the prosecution case together.
'We are satisfied that justice has been served today with the conviction of Carl Whant for the horrific murder of Nikitta and Kelsey-May.
'Whant has never admitted his guilt, given any indication as to why he committed this terrible crime or provided Nikitta's family with any answers.'
He added that expert advice had been sought from across the UK in an effort to strengthen the case against Whant.
'We have also done our best to provide support to Nikitta's family and our thoughts, as they have always been, are with them today.
'With the murder of Nikitta and Kelsey-May, they have lost their daughter, sister and granddaughter, and Ryan has lost his girlfriend and daughter.
'The family and Ryan must be commended for their bravery and dignity, and for the support they have given to the police investigation over the last 12 months.
'This process has undoubtedly been a harrowing ordeal for them.
'I am hopeful that this conviction brings to an end one part of the process, although, without a doubt, they will continue to mourn the family and grieve for Nikitta and Kelsey-May for the rest of their lives.'
Murdered: Nikitta Grender, 19, was ready to give birth to her first child, Kelsey May, and had bought a cot and a pram
Cousins: Bouncer Carl Whant 27, left, raped and murdered the girlfriend of his cousin Ryan Mayes, right, killing their unborn baby
Torched: Nikitta Grender's flat which was set on fire by drugged-up Carl Whant after he had stabbed her and her unborn baby to death in Newport, South Wales
Killer: Carl Whant 27, who murdered pregnant 19-year-old Nikitta Grender is pictured holding a child
Carl Whant sat composed and seemingly unemotional for weeks as he listened to the prosecution case in his murder trial.
As the quality and quantity of evidence against him built up, any residual doubt that he might be innocent rapidly disappeared.
Juries are warned at the start of any trial that they should reach their verdict only on the facts as set out in court.
But the case against Whant quickly appeared so overwhelming, expectations were raised that he would change his plea to guilty.
When that failed to happen many concluded that what his plea really amounted to was a denial of the truth.
The picture which emerged of Whant during the trial was that of an ineffectual loser living an aimless life.
A stint working as a nightclub bouncer had given way to work as a canvasser for a double glazing firm.
He had a cocaine habit and was regarded as unreliable and basically untrustworthy by his girlfriend and friends alike.
Habitually short of cash, his money seems to have been largely spent on cigarettes, drink and drugs.
Despite his faults he had won the friendship and respect of his youthful second cousin, Ryan Mayes.
The 17-year-old boyfriend of murdered mother-to-be Nikitta Grender, 19, was also the father of the unborn child.
Whant's murderous act was all the more brutal for robbing his closest friend of a partner, a daughter and fatherhood.
Whant: A stint working as a nightclub bouncer had given way to work as a canvasser for a double glazing firm. He had a cocaine habit and was regarded as unreliable and basically untrustworthy by his girlfriend and friends alike
A year later he forced him to re-live the trauma suffered at his hands by insisting on his innocence in court against all the evidence.
'PREGNANT MOTHER'S BABY COULD HAVE BEEN BORN ALIVE'
Carl Whant was charged with killing Nikitta's unborn baby under a rarely-used law.
As the baby had not been born, legally he could not be accused of murder so instead he faced a child destruction charge.
The offence is rarely used in court and Whant is believed to be one of the few people charged with it in the last 10 years.
It covers those who kill unborn babies who are 'capable of being born alive'.
It usually applies if the woman has been pregnant for 28 weeks or more - Nikitta had been pregnant for 38.
The crime was created in the 1929 under the Infant Life (Preservation) Act.
The act read: 'Any person who, with intent to destroy the life of a child capable of being born alive, by any wilful act causes a child to die before it has an existence independent of its mother.
'Shall be guilty of felony, to wit, of child destruction, and shall be liable on conviction thereof on indictment to penal servitude for life.'
The crime is punishable with life in prison - the same as murder.
David Wooler, Crown Advocate for the Crown Prosecution Service in Wales, said: 'I decided that Carl Whant should also be charged with the offence of child destruction, under the Infant Life (Preservation) Act of 1929.
'This is an offence which prohibits wilful acts causing the death of any child capable of being born alive - and given the advanced stage of Nikitta Grender's pregnancy, Kelsey-May certainly fit that description.
'Child destruction is, thankfully, a very rarely used charge; we are not aware of another case like this one in Wales.
'When the legislation was originally drafted in the 1920s, it was intended to be used to curb the activities of back-street abortionists.
'But in a more modern setting, it can be applied to cases where an offender deliberately takes the life of an unborn child through a violent or aggressive act.'
His denial was all the more unpalatable for the victim's loved ones because of a belated claim that he had consensual sex with his victim.
Coming as it did little more than one month before the start of his murder trial, the claim smacked of desperation.
It was vital for Whant's defence that he explain how his semen came to be found inside the dead body of Ms Grender.
His claim that he had sex with the heavily pregnant teenager on the evening of the murder at the invitation of Mr Mayes always appeared outlandish.
That he claimed the invitation was made moments after Mr Mayes had had sex with her himself sounded like the fiction of desperation.
Mr Mayes vehemently dismissed that either he or Whant had had sex with Ms Grender on the evening in question.
The claim meant that despite being a victim himself, his own sexual conduct came under scrutiny of Whant's defence.
The teenager, aged only 16 at the time of his partner's murder, was forced to stand and publicly deny ever sharing women with his cousin.
His obvious repugnance at the very idea was a final insult forced on him by his former friend. But Whant could not explain how Ms Grender's blood came to be on his shirt and in his car.
He could not explain how his car was identified on CCTV by experts travelling a route on the morning of the murder which led to her Broadmead Park flat.
He admitted leaving a party in Newport at a time which gave him the opportunity to commit murder, claiming he was going to get cigarettes.
He claimed that he had visited his grandmother's home to ask for them but failed to wake her.
Despite being able to describe his nine minute drive across Newport in detail, he went on to claim he had no memory of returning to the party.
His account was so riddled with inconsistencies and lies that nobody who sat through the trial could ever believe him innocent.
It was a measure of the man that to escape justice he was willing to force his friend through the added ordeal of a trial in spite of everything he had already done to him.
Family: Nikitta's father Paul Brunnock, mother Marcia Grender, the victim's boyfriend Ryan Mayes and Nikitta's younger brother Luke exit Newport Crown Court (left). Right: Mr Mayes arrives at the court earlier in the case
FATHER-TO-BE TOLD MURDERED NIKITTA HE WOULD BE 'PERFECT FATHER'
Stabbed to death: Nikitta Grender, 19, was in a long-term relationship with Ryan Mayes, Carl Whant's cousin
Heartbroken father-to-be Ryan Mayes told how he was counting down the days to the arrival of his baby girl with partner Nikitta Grender.
The young couple had already named her Kelsey-May and painted her nursery pale pink.
Nikitta, 19, had bought nappies and baby clothing ready for the day she would proudly bring her back from hospital. Ryan, just 17, kept the ultra-sound scans of their baby on his mobile phone to show his friends and family.
Ryan had gone along to Nikitta's ante-natal classes and had told family he planned to be the 'perfect dad.'
He said: 'After we moved in together our relationship improved - it went better. We just had ourselves and may have had one or two friends each.
'We wanted each other and didn't want to go out drinking and finding other people.
'We just kept ourselves to ourselves and stayed strong. I was over the moon she was expecting a baby and she felt exactly the same.'
Eight and-a half-months pregnant Nikitta was due to give birth on Ryan's 18th birthday - February 17th 2011.
But in the early hours of February 5 Ryan's cousin Carl Whant called at the couple's first-floor flat and murdered Nikitta.
Although Ryan loved and respected his older cousin - Nikitta didn't like him.
Ryan said: 'She didn't like Carl because I spent a lot of time with him. Maybe she was a bit jealous.
'She just couldn't like him. The way he came across to her she didn't like that. She didn't like what he was about or what he liked doing.'
Ryan wore a pink shirt - Nikitta's favourite colour - to the funeral of his girlfriend and unborn baby who were buried together.
He left a teddy bear wreath for Nikitta and Kelsey-May. It read: 'My beautiful angels taken too soon. Sleep well my Princesses. Love Ryan (Daddy).'
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