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downsmail.co.uk Ex-soldier ‘shotman’ after affair


A SHEPWAYman shot dead the husband of awoman he had been having an affairwith, a court heard.


Jeffery Mills (55) shot Andrew


Jenkins (54) with a single bullet to the chest at his home inCambridge Crescent,Maidstone, onMarch 17 with aGlock pistol. Prosecuting atMaidstoneCrown


Court,AdamFeestQC toldthe jury that Mr Jenkins, who lived on a houseboat in Rochester, had come to Maidstone armed with a knife shouting: “I’ll f****** kill you.” The jurywas toldMrMills, a for-


mer army chef and highways worker, had fired the pistol at Mr Jenkins without warning from the bedroom after his wife, Jayne an- swered the door. Ina 999 call,MrsMills, thedefen-


dant’s wife of 34 years, said: “My husband had an affair with this man’s wife and he’s just come up herewith a knife and threatened to killmy husband.”


WhenMrMills joined the emer-


gency call, he said: “I understand the repercussions ofmy actions but I’mnotpreparedtodieover a f****** sexual affair.” Just a fewweeksbefore the shoot-


ing, thevictimhadlearnthiswifeof seven years Louise (34), had been having a two-year “sexual affair” withMrMills. The court heardMrs Jenkins and


MrMills hadbegun their liaison on her 30th birthday when they start- ing texting, which then developed into a sexual relationship. The pair would meet for sex a


couple times a week at The Royal Victoria Hotel and Bull Hotel in Rochester. Mrs Jenkins said shewas the one


tocome cleantoherhusband, as she hadbeen“lyingfor a longperiodof time” and the only way to move forwardwiththeir relationshipwas to be honest. She also told the jury she did notwant the affair to end. After a series of threats fromMr


Google searches


THE court heard Mr Mills searched the internet for various gun-related articles. He searched:


The accused: JeffreyMills


PROSECUTING, Adam Feest QCsaid: “On the day of the shoot- ing, Mr Jenkins left his home in Rochester at around 9.55am. At around 10.11am, he received a text from his wife which read: ‘I'm not going to stop you be- cause you are going to do what you are going to do. Whatever hap- pens I still love


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Jenkins, the defendant claims he only got the illegally obtained firearm to protect himself and his family.Mrs Jenkinsdeniesknowing her husband was going to Maid- stone to killMrMills thatmorning, saying she thought hewas going to Screwfix. She toldthe juryhowshehadmet


Mr andMrsMills around 15 years ago and the couples became good-


friends afterMr Jenkins helpedMr Millsget a jobona constructionsite. Mr Mills denied murder but


pleaded guilty to three firearm of- fences. A verdict at Maidstone Crown


Courtwasdue asDownsMailwent to press. Read the updated story in the next own edition or check downsmail.co.uk for updates. Reports by Jade Schopman


Self-defence and law - QC


PROSECUTING,AdamFeestQCtold the jury a person is entitled to use reasonable force in self-defence, but itmust be proportionate to the situation. Mr Feest said: “On this side of the court, we believe the defen-


dant shootingMr Jenkinswas unreasonable. “Firstly, he hadn’t actually seen any violence. He had only be-


come aware of the knife after he had fired the shot.He had not seen the knife inMr Jenkins’ hand or any otherweapon.He also did not brandish the gun orwarn himin an attempt to scare himaway. “Lastly, he had purchased an illegal firearm beforehand which we believe shows hewas not acting in self-defence.”


Husband’s intention denied Reputation of a violentman The court heardMrsMillswas


one who had gone to a hardware store to buy hinges. Mrs Jenkins denied she knew


anythingaboutherhusband’splans to visit theMills’ flat and insisted it was a “peptalk”,but inpolicebody- worn camera footage, the jury saw Mrs Jenkins receiving the news her husbandwas dead. Later in the video, she can be


heardsaying: “Iknewhewasgoing over there to kill him”. Mrs Jenkins also said she had not


you. Iwant you to knowthat’. About 40minutes later, her hus-


bandMr Jenkinswould be dead.” Defending,GillianHunter-Jones


askedMrs Jenkins (pictured)why she had sent such a text to some-


18 Maidstone October 2019


seen Mr Jenkins leave their river- boathome inRochesterwithaknife butunderstoodhe hadkept a blade in the boot of his truck to “fix his brakes”. She said her bond withMrMills


was “purelysexual” andshedidnot intend on having a relationship


DEFENDING,GillianHunter- Jones QC said that Mr Jenkins had a “violent reputation” after he claimed he had been to prison be- fore for attempted murder in Birmingham, which the court heard was false. The victim was “a large man”


whowas 6ft tall,weighed 16 stone with a stocky build. Mrs Jenkins said: “I had never


seen that side ofAndrew. “My Andrew and Birmingham


Andrewwere different.” Ina 999 call,MrsMills said: “The


guy’s a f****** nutter, he’s been to prison before for shooting some- body. “He’s come up here and threat-


enedmyoldman,andmyoldman’s not thesortofblokeyou’d**** off.”


alerted to the affair by a recep- tionist friend at a hotel who had seen her husband of 34 years with Mrs Jenkins booking a roomtogether. The court heard she begged


Mrs Jenkins not to tellMr Jenk- ins over fear ofwhat hemight do and because “she knew what he was like”. However,Mrs Jenkins did tell


her husband because she didn’t want Mrs Mills “to have some- thing overme”. Mrs Mills said she and her


husband had barricaded them- selves in their Shepway flat for nine days before Andrew Jenk- ins came calling wielding a knife.


Scene of shooting in Cambridge Crescent, Maidstone in March


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