Where is Colin Reeves now?

The crime documentary series A Killer Makes A Call, shines a sinister spotlight on those killers who were arrested after making a 999 call.

Episode 2 of the series focuses on an ex-soldier named Colin Reeves who called the police and confessed to killing both of his neighbours.

In this article, we briefly outline this true crime case and ask the question: Where is Colin Reeves now?

What did Colin Reeves do?

On 21 November 2021, Colin Reeves, aged 35, stabbed his neighbours, Stephen and Jennifer Chapple, to death with a ceremonial military dagger at their Somerset home while their children slept upstairs.

It’s believed that Reeves, who had served in Afghanistan with the Royal Engineers, had a good relationship with his neighbours until May 2021 when they fell out over a parking dispute.

Immediately after the attack, Reeves called the police and confessed to his crime. When taken to the police station, he told the officers that he was on an “operation” and “just doing my job.”

What happened to Colin Reeves?

During his trial at Bristol Crown Court, Reeves claimed to have little memory of what happened and denied murder. He entered a guilty plea of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

However, two forensic psychiatrists concluded that Reeves was not suffering from PTSD or mild psychosis at the time of the murders. Instead, they diagnosed him with mild to moderate depression.

The jury heard that Reeves had been having trouble in his marriage and that around 40 minutes before the killings, she had asked her husband for a trial separation.

In his defence, Reeves said he had been triggered by a white light (the victims’ security light) before the murders. He said:

“I felt as though I had been seen or compromised, white light was a trigger when I was a soldier, when a light goes on or somebody sets off a flare, when that white light goes up something is going to happen.” (source)

It took the jury five hours to decide that Reeves was guilty of murder.

At his sentencing on 21 June, 2022, Reeves was jailed for at least 38 years.

Speaking to Reeves, Mr Justice Garnham said:

“You left (Mr and Mrs Chapple) on the floor bleeding to death, and all of the time their two children were asleep upstairs. Your murderous behaviour left them orphans. They were put to bed that night by their parents and they would never see them again. The harm you did to those two innocent children is incalculable.”