THE man convicted of murdering a young chef from Odiham will serve a minimum of 23 years in prison.

Andrew Morris received a life sentence at the Old Bailey on Friday, for the murder of his housemate and former Lord Wandsworth College pupil Henry Stangroom.

Basingstoke Gazette: Andrew MorrisAndrew Morris

Andrew Morris

Morris, 30, brutally murdered the 21-year-old on October 17 last year by shooting him in the head with a spear gun before stabbing him in the chest with a kitchen knife.

The attack took place in Mr Stangroom’s bedroom, in the flat the two men shared in Battersea, London.

Afterwards, Morris slashed his wrists before firing a spear gun into his chin, before officers arrived at the flat, having been called by Mr Stangroom’s concerned relatives.

Mr Stangroom, whose parents live in Rye Common, Odiham, had moved to London where he worked as a chef at The Criterion restaurant in Piccadilly Circus.

Basingstoke Gazette: Andrew Morris "had a history of self-harm", a court heard

Victim Henry Stangroom

Morris had denied murder, claiming he had stabbed Mr Stangroom in self-defence and was mentally unwell at the time.

The trial at the Old Bailey had heard that Morris attacked Mr Stangroom out of revenge for the break-up of a relationship with the chef’s sister, Michelle.