A mural in the Welsh Valleys town of Blaina shows a young girl holding a daffodil with the words: 'A small town with a big Welsh heart'.
asserted
mural → show → heart
The former mining community in Gwent has long prided itself on its close-knit character.
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community → pride → character
Home to fewer than 5,000 people, it's the kind of place where everyone knows everyone and news travels fast.
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news → know → everyone
So when 14-year-old Lilly Jones failed to return home one Saturday evening in June, neighbours quickly joined the search.
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neighbours → fail → search
Two days later, her body was found in a patch of woodland in Duffryn Park, a nine-acre expanse of sports pitches and nature trails along the banks of the Ebbw Fach River.
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body → find → River
Lilly, who relatives remembered as a 'beautiful, kind and caring' girl with an 'eclectic taste in music', had been stabbed multiple times.
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relatives → remember → music
Days later, a 14-year-old boy was charged with her murder.
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boy → charge → murder
The killing has left Blaina reeling.
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killing → leave → Blaina
But while residents grappled with the loss of one of their own, detectives were confronting a wider crisis.
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detectives → grapple → crisis
Police chiefs say the number of killings in Gwent has surged by an 'unprecedented' 270 per cent in the last year.
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number → say → year
The rural county north of Cardiff, which normally sees around two or three murders a year, has been rocked by 11 in the first ten months of 2026.
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which → see → 2026
Gwent Police Chief Constable Mark Hobrough said he feared his 1,535 officers were at risk of burnout, while record overtime payments were placing a huge strain on his force's finances.
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payments → say → finances
Lilly Jones, 14, was found dead in an area of woodland.
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Jones → find → woodland
A 14-year-old boy has been charged with murder
A mural in the town showing a young girl holding a daffodil with the words: 'A small town with a big Welsh heart'
Mr Hobrough warned that if the surge in killings continued next year, he could be forced to resort to cheaper alternatives – such as recruiting specialist investigators on 'zero-hours type' temporary contracts.
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he → charge → contracts
Among them was 17-year-old rugby player Tristan Kerr, who was stabbed to death with a zombie knife in the village of Abertridwr, near Caerphilly, in February.
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who → stab → February
Just a short drive away in Newport, 16-year-old Jaydon Bowyer was killed in May alongside his best friend, 19-year-old Tashay Canoville, after the pair were thrown from a motorbike in a suspected hit-and-run.
uncertain
pair → kill → hit
The oldest victim was 74-year-old Brian Parfitt, who died a month earlier after being attacked inside his home in Pontypool, a town of some 30,000 people north of Newport.
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who → die → Newport
Other deaths played out in public.
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deaths → play → public
Tony Jones, a 56-year-old father of two, was killed in a vicious brawl on August 7 in nearby Pontnewynydd.
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Jones → kill → Pontnewynydd
Police believe two rival motorcycle clubs, the Hells Angels and the Vikings, were involved in the violence – which reportedly saw thugs brandish knives and hammers.
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thugs → believe → knives
As part of the murder investigation, officers have made 45 arrests and preserved 55 scenes.
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officers → make → scenes
Mr Hobrough said the spike in homicides has been accompanied by other horrifying incidents, including the death of a nine-month-old baby in a dog attack.
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spike → say → attack
He said there was no link between the 11 killings and that many stemmed from domestic violence and substance misuse.
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many → say → violence
Others appear to have been sparked by trivial disputes.
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Others → appear → disputes
On February 20, Kyle O'Callaghan, 30, punched 37-year-old Marcus Carpenter in the head outside a Wetherspoons because he felt 'disrespected'.
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he → punch → Wetherspoons
Both men were in the pub with separate groups of friends when O'Callaghan asked Mr Carpenter to come outside after hearing he 'had been saying things about him'.
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he → ask → him
Tony Jones, a 56-year-old father of two, was killed in a vicious brawl on August 7 in nearby Pontnewynydd
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Jones → kill → Pontnewynydd
The spike in killings has been accompanied by other horrifying incidents, including the death of a nine-month-old baby in a dog attack
Tashay Canoville, 19, was killed in May alongside his best friend, 16-year-old Jaydon Bowyer, after the pair were thrown from a motorbike in a suspected hit-and-run
After throwing a first punch, O'Callaghan continued trying to argue with Mr Carpenter before landing a second 'fatal, sickening blow' while his victim had his arms down by his side, Newport Crown Court heard.
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Court → accompany → side
The cowardly killer admitted manslaughter and was jailed for ten-and-a-half years.
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killer → admit → years
While everyone acknowledges the police are under pressure, locals in Blaina criticised the idea of employing investigators on a 'zero-hours' basis.
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locals → acknowledge → basis
Since Mr Hobrough's comments to Monmouthshire councillors, Gwent Police has clarified that it does not employ anyone on zero-hours contracts.
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it → clarify → contracts
The force said any new staff it recruits in would be on short-term temporary contracts, a similar arrangement to agency staff.
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it → say → staff
It said these individuals could assist detectives during 'future periods of high demand'.
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individuals → say → demand
Nonetheless, many in Blaina fear the force is already struggling to cope.
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force → fear → Blaina
Brian Jones, a 62-year-old retired scaffolder, pointed out that Lilly's body was found by two boys shortly after officers called off their search at dusk.
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officers → point → dusk
Gwent Police were alerted but it was another 12 minutes before officers returned to the scene.
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officers → alert → scene
'We all know the resources aren't there.
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resources → know → ?
We saw that when the young girl went missing and was found dead,' he said.
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he → see → that
On Blaina's high street, many of the shops are closed and shuttered, while those that have survived tend to be takeaways and Turkish barbers.
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that → close → shops
A recurring complaint was the shortage of officers on the beat and a dearth of community police stations.
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complaint → recur → stations
…and 11 more, not listed.
The Aporia
