Matthew Selby: Autistic man sentenced to 5 years in prison for strangling sister, 15, to death on vacation
ABERGELE, NORTH WALES: A man has been given five years prison sentence after he was found guilty of taking the life of his sister during vacation in 2021. Matthew Selby fatally attacked Amanda Selby at the Ty Mawr Holiday Park in Towyn, near Abergele, North Wales, on July 31 last year, while the victim said, “Tell Mum I love her.”
The 20-year-old autistic killer was sentenced on Friday, December 16, at Mold Crown Court after he reportedly admitted to manslaughter by diminished responsibility. As per the Daily Mail, the young man has received “an extended sentence of 10 years - made up of a five-year custodial term and five years on extended licence,” by Judge Rhys Rowlands, who said, “The family has been shattered by what happened that day in July last year,” and added that it’s “an extremely unusual and sad case which presents the court this morning with a difficult task”.
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During the hearing, the court was told that Matthew as well as Amanda were on vacation with their father, Anthony Selby, when the unfortunate incident took place. Just before the murder, all of them had gone to Rhyl but as soon as they came back to their caravan, the brother-sister duo had a fight.
Prosecuting Jamie Baxter revealed that the victim had first attacked Matthew with a plug before he pounced on her. The court heard that the 15-year-old girl got trapped between two beds in the tiny space as the killer sat on her. Baxter shared, “Mr Selby Senior tried to climb over one of the beds and did all he could to help but was unable to get between his children. His son was too strong, his rage too high, and his daughter had nowhere to move.”
Despite all his efforts, Anthony failed to save Amanda before cops arrived at the scene and arrested Matthew. Later, an autopsy carried out on the teen revealed that she died of asphyxiation. The prosecuting also stated that Matthew “has autism spectrum disorder with intermittent explosive disorder, which causes aggressive outbursts, as well as a depressive disorder.”
While Gordon Cole KC, defending, shared the struggle Matthew and Amanda’s mother has been going through. He reportedly told the court, “This is horrific in the sense that she has, to all intents and purposes, lost two children, but she is very much aware of the issues and difficulties this defendant has and is here to support him.” Earlier, after the girl’s death, the grieving family had issued a statement that said, “Amanda was a loving daughter and granddaughter - she was caring, thoughtful, liked to help others and very much loved. She will be very sadly missed.”
