Pictured: Ex-soldier arrested for ‘murdering’ married couple next door while their children slept

This is the former commando Royal Engineer and father of two who has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a couple who were killed while their children slept upstairs.

Collin Reeves, 34, lived in a three-bedroom property on a new-build estate in the Somerset village of Norton Fitzwarren, near Taunton, next door to IT teacher Stephen Chapple, 36, and his garden centre worker wife Jenny, 33.  

The couple were found with serious injuries at the £250,000 property on Sunday night and died at the scene. Ex soldier Reeves lived with his wife, Kayley Louise, and their two children and are believed to have moved into a property next door around three years ago.

The former soldier was arrested on suspicion of murder and is still in custody. A 67-year-old man was also arrested but was later released under investigation.  

Neighbours of the couple told MailOnline that they had been involved in a long running dispute over parking, which saw them leaving their cars outside each other’s drives, causing them to be blocked in. 

Residents on the private estate, which was built seven years ago, said disputes over parking are common because of narrow roads and the lack of parking space. 

Footage filmed earlier this month has emerged of Jenny Chapple clashing with her neighbour over the long-running parking dispute. Video obtained by the Sun shows the garden centre coffee shop worker reaching for her door handle as she is confronted by a man who accuses her of ‘f**ing gobbing off’.

Jenny, who later sent the footage to a friend, tells the man ‘she’s the one who started it, so f*** off’. He shouts back: ‘What’s that, you f***ing c***? You fat b****…you f***ing dirty…’. 

She then tells the man to ‘f*** off’ before going into the house. The man then walks into the frame and calls her a ‘f***ing c***’ as he walks away.     

One neighbour, Sarah, who did not want to give her surname, told MailOnline that tension between them accelerated three months ago after Jenny crashed her car into a vehicle belonging to the neighbour as she returned home.

She said: ‘Things got even worse between them after that point. Both sides dug their heels in and were equally to blame for the dispute.’ 

Marion McGregor said: ‘Generally, everybody has issues with parking around here. These are new built houses which only come with one parking space each. But many people have more than one car because the public transport in this area is not good.

‘There are always issues between neighbours about cars blocking their drives or parked outside their homes. It’s a real nuisance issue on this estate. Overall, it’s a lovely area but people can get quite intense and angry about parking.’  

Police confirmed at a press conference this afternoon that the couple’s two children, five and six, were in their upstairs bedrooms while the attack took place. They were found ‘distressed’ but unhurt and are now being looked after by Jenny’s sister at a home nearby, neighbours said. 

Jenny suffered ‘multiple’ stab wounds, her postmortem found. Stephen’s has not yet been carried out. 

Residents have confirmed parking was a contentious issue on the estate and drone pictures today showed two cars parked bumper to bumper in the Chapples’ designated space. Officers were seen searching a nearby drain.

One resident, Melissa, said: ‘I never knew of a dispute over parking that Jenny and Steven were involved with specifically.

‘But everyone has an issue with parking around here. Some people have multiple cars there isn’t space for and it has caused a lot of upset.’

Inspector Justin French confirmed that police had been called to the Chapples’ address previously. He said: ‘There have been previous incidents. There have been call outs in the past.’

Avon and Somerset Police said the incident on the Dragon Rise estate would be referred to the policing watchdog due to ‘prior police contact with those involved’.  

Gregg Mockridge, Headteacher at West Somerset College, where Stephen worked, said: ‘Steve was a fantastic colleague at West Somerset College, a brilliant teacher that cared deeply about the students in his care. He led innovations in the use of technology across the school as well as within his own teaching.

‘Steve will be sadly missed by all staff and students and our thoughts and prayers go out to his children and wider family at this time.’

Rob Brooks, manager of the Otter Garden Centre, where Jenny worked in the coffee shop, told MailOnline: ‘She was a well loved member of staff and a very kind person.

‘We all loved her and so did the customers. We are devastated. We will remember her as a beautiful, kind and dedicated mother and colleague. This has hit us all very hard and it feels very raw.’  

Mr Brooks said that Jenny had been working at the garden centre since the start of the year.

He added: ‘Stephen and the kids would sometimes come in and we got to know them too. They were a really close knit, loving family.

‘There’s a lot of speculation going around that this was a neighbourly dispute but I don’t want to get into any of that right now.’ 

Neighbours living on the new build estate around Dragon Rise described the neighbourhood as quiet, and one neighbour described the victims as ‘very friendly’.

‘I knew them by sight but I didn’t know their names, my dog used to really like the lady.’ 

Another neighbour said he had not realised anything was wrong even when the air ambulance arrived, and had believed it had just been from the nearby military base.

‘We slept through it all – we only saw all of the police and the tape this morning,’ he said. 

Others said they heard screams and later the police and emergency services arriving.   

A police cordon is still in place at two properties on the street while officers carry out a forensic examination of the scene. 

Due to prior police contact with those involved, a voluntary referral will be made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.  

Detective Inspector Neil Meade, of the Major Crime Investigation Team, said: ‘The thoughts of everyone in the force this morning are with the families of the two people who sadly died last night. 

‘Two young children were inside the property at the time of the incident and while thankfully they weren’t hurt, they are understandably distressed at what has happened.

‘They are being looked after and specially trained officers have been deployed to support the victim’s families in what is undoubtedly the most difficult of times.’

He added: ‘We will carry out a full and thorough investigation and we will do all we can to achieve justice for the victim’s families.

‘While this appears to be an isolated incident, there will be increased police activity in the area to provide the community with reassurance.

‘Incidents like this are very rare but when they do happen, we know they cause significant concern so we’d urge anyone with worries or questions to speak to dan officer or contact their local neighbourhood policing team.

‘If anyone has information which would help our investigation, please phone 101 and give the call-handler the reference number 5221274497.’