Justin Chants' parents' appeal has been turned down

The emaciated corpse of 24-year-old Justin Chant was locked in a flat in Essex.

He died of starvation when a flatmate barricaded him in a cupboard at the home they shared in the village of Thorpe-le-Soken near Clacton in November 2000.

Steven Sullivan, 40, was given a life sentence for Mr Chant's murder and an additional 18-year sentence for false imprisonment in December last year.

Justin...had a gun pointed to his head to make sure he did what he was told Father Terry Chant

Mr Chant's parents have been told they cannot be paid compensation because their son had criminal convictions.

They say he was forced to commit crime by his murderer.

"He (Sullivan) burned my son's hand," his father Terry Chant said.

"Justin was also taken out, put into a hole and had a gun pointed to his head to make sure he did what he was told."

Justin Chant starved to death in a cupboard

The family's application was turned down by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) earlier this year.

That decision has been upheld after a review was ordered when the family appealed.

The CICA compensation scheme is designed to offer benefits to survivors of criminal acts and relatives of those who have died as a result of a crime of violence. It covers items such as funeral expenses.