A former student of Portsmouth University has been convicted of performing a horrific murder.

Adam Thomas, twenty four, had attended the university taking a business studies course before dropping out in his second year.
The murder of thirty five year old Sharon Stokes was not the first in a chain of events for Thomas.

His reign of terror appears to have included at least one brawl with fellow students and an incident involving an attempt to climb onto the bonnet of a moving van.

The accused’s legal team believed he should be prosecuted for manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. He apparently demanded before the murder that he be locked up, as he was a danger to society.

Those that knew Thomas whilst he was a student have described him as a “chav” and that he used to regularly binge drink vast quantities of alcohol.

In 2006 Thomas drove his car into the front doors of Barclays Bank in his home town of Exmouth. It has been reported that this was an attempt by Thomas, who was worried about his actions to be imprisoned.

The murderer described himself as the "Grim Reaper" to Stokes before beating her to death. He has also been described as suffering from violent fantasies and that this along with excess consumption of alcohol led to a an extreme attack in which Thomas showed no remorse or emotion towards his victim.

Thomas also is reported to have attempted suicide in the New Forest and was receiving medication for psychiatric illness and was due an appointment to see a clinical psychiatrist.

Thomas has been convicted of brutally murdering Stokes with a brick in the early hours of Valentine's Day after he had met her in a nightclub.

Thomas has been jailed for life by Judge Graham Cottle stating that Thomas had "no regret, no remorse, and not a shred of emotion”.