Sheet metal worker David Folley, 35, was convicted of murdering 36 year-old Inderjit Singh - known as ‘Raj’ to friends - in the early hours of Christmas Day 2010 and will serve a minimum of 26 years.
The confused victim, described as a ‘quiet, calm, gentle, fun-loving man’ was looking for a friend’s address, but ended up outside Folley’s front door in Bedford and was stabbed to death on the landing.
Brutal: Racist David Folley, 35, left, slashed the throat of stranger Inderjit Singh, 36, after he accidentally wandered up to the BNP supporter's front door while looking for a friend's address
Above his body was an ominous sign the defendant had placed over his front door, which read: ‘Danger of Death. Keep Out.’
Police later found a BNP flyer displayed in the defendant’s flat and seized a t-shirt, with the words: ‘F*** off. We’re full,’ depicting a boat called SS Asylum heading for the white cliff of Dover.
Judge Warwick McKinnon told Folley: ‘Mr Singh had lost his way that evening, having come from a late-night carol service at his local church and tragically he ended up on your landing, somewhat the worse for wear.
‘He settled himself down and was drinking from a bottle of whisky and you, yourself were clearly intoxicated and plainly annoyed by Mr Singh’s presence on your landing. You saw it as someone invading your territory.
‘You worked yourself up into a rage, took a knife from your kitchen, and the drunk Mr Singh, helpless and vulnerable stood no chance.
‘You sliced his throat open as if you were killing an animal. It is plain to me you are a dangerous man. He posed absolutely no threat to you.’
Folley confirmed his BNP sympathies from the witness box, telling jurors at Croydon Crown Court: ‘I believe you should put British people first.’
Officers seized three crossbows from his unkempt flat - one with a telescopic sight - a 17’ ‘Bad To The Bone’ folding knife, the swastika-embossed dagger and a variety of other weapons, including baseball bats, swords and a rifle.
Vicious: David Folley was also convicted of slashing the face of fellow Woodhill Prison inmate Norman Grant, whose chin he cut with a sharpened plastic knife
‘The prosecution say this defendant took a knife from his flat and cut the throat of Inderjit Singh, leaving him to die on the staircase of the block of flats,’ prosecutor Mr. Stuart Alford told the court.
Folley had arrived home in the early hours, after an all-day drinking session during which he downed up to fourteen pints, and murdered Mr. Singh soon afterwards.
Tiny spots of airborne blood were found on the defendant’s jeans, placing him at the scene at the time of the fatal stabbing.
Folley claimed Mr Singh had already been attacked by the time he returned home, insisting: ‘I saw this bloke lying there and there was blood everywhere.’
No murder weapon was ever identified, but a kitchen knife capable of inflicting the wound was discovered wrapped in a plastic bag bearing the defendant’s fingerprint inside his secure dustbin.
Folley was also convicted of causing actual bodily harm to fellow Woodhill Prison inmate Norman Grant, whose chin he cut with a sharpened plastic knife and received nine months imprisonment to run concurrently with the life sentence.
Sikh Mr Singh had come to the UK after an arranged marriage and his ex-wife and daughter were in court.
‘There is some evidence this was a racially-motivated killing, but I cannot be satisfied to the necessary high standard,’ added Judge McKinnon.
Daily Mail
