Landlord jailed for 'zap attack' after Sky TV row with tenant

A landlord tried to electrocute his lodger using a boobytrapped door handle before hitting him with a hammer, a court was told. Eric Malcolm, of Shakespeare, Royston, hooked a live wire around his living room door in a bid to seriously injure Tony Gilesnan, who had been living with him for just three days when they had a disagreement, which led to the incident on April 28. Cambridge Crown Court was told if he had done a better job the boobytrap could have killed Mr Gilesnan.

Malcolm, 33, previously pleaded guilty to administering a noxious substance to Mr Gilesnan, namely 240 volts of electricity, so as to endanger his life and also admitted grievous bodily harm. He was appearing at the higher court for sentencing and was jailed for four years. Rebecca Smith, prosecuting, said the two had set up a tenancy contract and Mr Gilesnan paid three months’ rent and a deposit totalling £1,200 before they had a disagreement about a Sky TV subscription.



This was resolved but later Malcolm confronted the lodger in his bedroom after he mistakenly thought he had used his computer and broke one of his trophies. Malcolm went downstairs, with the Mr Gilesnan following shortly after. Miss Smith said Mr Gilesnan felt a “tingle” as he touched the door handle before entering the room, and then “felt a sharp blow to the back of his head. He turned and saw that he had had a hammer in his hand”. Prior to hitting him with the hammer, Malcolm had said: “You should be on the floor with the 240 volts I had put through you.”

A struggle followed before the victim managed to grab the weapon and called the emergency services. He suffered a three-inch cut to his head. An electrician said if Malcolm had stripped the extension cable properly before wrapping it around the door handle it would have caused the victim serious injury or killed him. Judge Gareth Hawkesworth described the attack as “a wholly irrational act.” He said Malcolm was unpredictable and may commit further violent offences in the future.