Bloodbath on the doorstep

SEPTEMBER 20 should have been a happy day for the prosperous, deeply religious Hustler family. Life was good and they were celebrating their youngest daughter's 16th birthday.

But the celebration turned into a bloodbath when older daughter Danielle's jilted boyfriend – unable to cope with the end of their relationship – turned up armed, unhinged and enraged.

Jonathan Cock claimed to dote on Danielle and had been begging her not to end their 18-month relationship.

Sarah Munro, prosecuting at Truro Crown Court, said the romance had always had "ups and downs".

"During the good times, they intended to marry, but during the bad times, he treated her badly, he was arrogant, controlling and unpleasant."

Cock was heard to hold a bitter grudge against her family, who he blamed for trying to sour their love.

He particularly hated her father, Adam, 41, referring to him as "that manipulative little man".

The fledging relationship had begun when Cock started working for the family drainage firm, of which Mr Hustler was managing director.

The young couple tried to keep their attachment secret as Cock was not of the faith, although in March 2008, he was baptised as a Jehovah's Witness.

By August, Miss Hustler decided to finish the relationship. The court was told that Cock then "bombarded" her with phone calls, texts and e-mails.

She finally agreed to meet him at a coffee house on September 20 at 3pm.

But in the run-up to that rendezvous, Cock's text messages took on an increasingly fraught, emotional tone.

One read: "I'm scared, Danielle, really scared, in fact I'm petrified that I have lost you. I'm feeling so helpless."

The day before the meeting, Miss Hustler decided to call it off and late that night, Cock sent her a message reading: "Well, you have made my decision easier too."

On September 20, he sent dozens of messages starting at 5.30am. When Miss Hustler did not keep the appointment, he sent one saying: "Well, it's 3pm. At least I never broke my promise. I've got one last one to keep now."

Just over an hour-and-a-half later, he sent another frightening message: "You have made your biggest mistake."

Then at just before 9pm, he loaded a .22 calibre rifle with 10 cartridges – the maximum the weapon would hold - and put a spare cartridge in the glove box.

At 9.15pm, he sent a worrying text to Miss Hustler: "Tesco's car park 15 minutes or I come to yours. Option A is the easy option. Do not make me choose the hard one. Come on your own. We need to talk. You are not fobbing me off or messing me around any more."

When she did not arrive, he texted another threat ordering her to come. Then he said he was coming to her in two minutes and, chillingly, she had chosen the "hard way".

Miss Munro said that Cock arrived at the door, but first concealed his weapon. When Mr Hustler answered, he demanded to see his daughter.

"Danielle approached the door to try and sort things out. Cock was visibly angry and his teeth were clenched.

"He said 'I'm getting a bit annoyed because this little man is here and I want to talk to you'. Then, there were no further words. The defendant reached for the gun and announced it was a .22 calibre rifle."

The commotion on the doorstep brought Mrs Hustler downstairs to find her husband and daughter wrestling with an armed and angry young man.

In the altercation that followed, Cock was pushed outside and the family tried to get back inside – but as she turned her back, Cock shot Mrs Hustler twice – with one bullet missing her spine by a "hair's breadth".

As the wounded 40-year-old lay bleeding across the threshold, Cock opened fire on her husband. The first bullet punctured his chest, rupturing his aorta, the second went into his neck and exited through his right temple.

The court was told that Miss Hustler was desperately trying summon the police from a phone in another room.

Cock, clearly able to see her, fired at her twice through the window as she cowered on the floor.

Her harrowing 999 conversation was played back to the court and Miss Hustler could be heard screaming and begging for help saying her ex-boyfriend had a gun and was "very angry".

Cock fired nine of the 10 cartridges in the rifle before leaving the house. He then placed the barrel in his mouth and pulled the trigger, partially lobotomising himself in the process.

Despite his terrible injuries, he was able to drive home at speed, where police later arrested him.

In his car was a suicide note and two cards addressed to Miss Hustler, one for if they decided to continue the relationship and one for if they did not.

The court was told that Cock suffered life-threatening injuries and claimed to have no memory of the awful events.

Martin Meeke, defending, said there was no evidence Cock had left home with a plan to hurt any of the Hustler family and that the moment he determined to fire was when he was pushed back from the door and "snapped."

A report by a consultant neuropsychiatrist said Cock posed a clear danger to others. "From his actions, the defendant has proved himself to be an impulsive and dangerous young man.

"His injury is likely to render him more impulsive and a continuing danger for that reason."

Abigail Hustler, 16, said she was still taking medication and her grades at school had plummeted. Mrs Hustler told how her married life had been "brutally destroyed" without a chance to say goodbye.

Miss Hustler wrote that it was impossible to describe the effect of "witnessing a man murder your father and injure your mother". "I feel a massive guilt that I allowed this man into my life and my family's life," she said.