All of the information below comes from either Sussex Police or our reporters attending court in person.
1. Daniel Appleton, Crawley Down
Daniel Appleton, 38, was found guilty of murdering his wife and a 76-year-old neighbour who rushed to help. Appleton had attacked his wife, Amy Appleton, on the drive of their Hazel Way home in Crawley Down on December 22, 2019. Sandy Seagrave, 76, was passing and crossed the road to confront Appleton, who beat her with her own walking stick. He then used the stick to further attack his wife. Both women were pronounced dead at the scene. Appleton then reentered the house and was found by police inside, having inflicted multiple life-threatening injuries to himself. His friends and family said he had been acting strangely leading up to the incident and witnesses said he seemed 'like he was possessed'. Three psychiatric assessments considered Appleton to have experienced a brief psychotic episode at the time of the killings and hallucinogenic drugs were found in his system. Appleton was jailed for at least 26 and a half years on January 25.
2. Daniel Meehan, Brighton
'Prolific' Daniel Meehan, of Albion Hill in Brighton, had 31 previous convictions for burglary, vehicle offences and anti-social behaviour when he was charged with burgling properties in Woodingdean last year. On January 12, the court heard Meehan, 28, broke into properties in Burnham Close and Batemans Road between June 27 and 28, 2020, stealing items including a wallet, sunglasses and a changing bag. He took keys to a car with which he drove to petrol stations and shops, where he used a victim's card to buy alcohol and cigarettes. On June 30, police searched a property in Rosedean Close where he had previously been staying and found several stolen items. After several 'wanted' appeals, Meehan was found hiding on a roof on August 12 and arrested. He was sentenced to three years and two months in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of burglary, taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent, fraud by false representation, and escaping lawful custody.
3. Iftekhar Khondaker, Mitcham
Iftekhar Khondaker, 34, was found guilty of murder and two counts of attempted murder after driving his BMW into a crowd of people on Brighton seafront. Khondaker and his brother, Irfan, got into an argument with 20-year-old Suel Delgado and his friends in Brighton in on December 1 during a night out, before going their separate ways. The Khondaker brothers got into their BMW SUV and Iftekhar deliberately drove the car into the group in Marine Parade near the pier. Suel was killed and two of his friends, Zakir and Azaan Khan, suffered life-changing injuries. The whole attack was captured on CCTV. The Khondaker brothers dumped the vehicle in Middle Street in the town centre and called a taxi home. Iftekhar, of Caithness Road in Mitcham, was jailed for a minimum of 26 years on February 4, after being found guilty on January 25.
4. Irfan Khondaker, Mitcham
Irfan Khondaker, 27, was found guilty found guilty of assisting an offender by helping his brother, Iftekhar, escape the scene of a crime. The Khondakers got into an argument with 20-year-old Suel Delgado and his friends in Brighton in on December 1 during a night out, before going their separate ways. The Khondaker brothers got into their BMW SUV and Iftekhar deliberately drove the car into the group in Marine Parade near the pier. Suel was killed and two of his friends, Zakir and Azaan Khan, suffered life-changing injuries. The whole attack was captured on CCTV. The Khondaker brothers dumped the vehicle in Middle Street in the town centre and called a taxi home. Irfan, of Caithness Road in Mitcham, was jailed for three years on February 4, after being found guilty on January 25.