He had admitted a frenzied knife attack on Mr De Lacy in Leeds.

Wood, aged 28, of Langley Moor, County Durham, yesterday pleaded guilty at Leeds Crown Court to stabbing Mr De Lacy 28 times with a six-inch kitchen knife in the 62-year-old’s luxury city centre flat.

The hairdresser, who was on a cocktail of drugs to control mood swings and epilepsy, had been on an all-day drinking binge before the attack.

Dressed in a navy suit, light blue shirt and matching tie, Wood spent much of the hearing with his head bowed while the evidence against him was read out.

Handcuffed and flanked by two security guards, he spoke only once when he entered his guilty plea to the murder charge.

Mr Richard Mansell, prosecuting, described the attack as “determined”.

Mr Mansell told the court how Wood knifed the bisexual businessman to death after the pair had gone back to his flat after meeting in a gay bar.

Mr De Lacy tried to escape but tripped over a table near the door. The knife blows were so violent that some had penetrated his ribs, the court heard.

Mr Simon Bourne-Arton, defending, said Wood had admitted the murder but could not remember anything about the attack. “He cannot understand how he did such a thing,” he said.

Originally from London, Mr De Lacy settled in the Black Country where he ran a string of casinos, including Dudley’s Castle Hill Casino and Wolverhampton’s Rubicon.

He moved up to Leeds last year to act as area director for the A & S Leisure group.

Mr De Lacy, of Monins Avenue, Tipton, is survived by two ex-wives and two sons.

By Jon Wood

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