Bride bullied and battered her meek lawyer husband for weeks before murdering him
Sharon Edwards, 42, stabbed criminal defence lawyer David, 51, to death. She often beat her him and once attacked him with a coffee table
She 'liked the idea of him being a solicitor', and their relationship became more tempestuous when he lost his job.
Convicted will serve a minimum of 20 years behind bars
A new bride who 'liked the idea of being a solicitor's wife' has been jailed for life for murdering her lawyer husband, after he was made redundant.
'Bullying and violent' Sharon Edwards, 42, stabbed criminal defence lawyer David Edwards, 51, to death at their home in Chorley, Lancashire, just two months after they married in Las Vegas.
Jailing the mother-of-four at Manchester Crown Court for a minimum of 20 years, Mr Justice William Davis told the defendant that she had 'robbed people of a decent man'.
Jurors were told that Edwards 'liked the idea of being a solicitor's wife', and that when her husband lost his job, their already rocky relationship deteriorated further.
Before his death, Mr Edwards had been the victim of 'forceful bullying' and had suffered at the hands of Edwards during the 'turbulent' year-long relationship in which he was regularly beaten and belittled, the trial heard.
This torment culminated in him being fatally stabbed in the heart with a kitchen knife on August 23 last year.
Friends and colleagues had warned the 'besotted' solicitor to leave domineering and possessive Edwards after he began turning up on the court circuit with black eyes, scratches and bite marks - even disclosing to one that his wife had hit him with a coffee table and an ashtray.
The court heard that part of Edwards's rage was because her new husband had been made redundant and was later sacked, having previously held a partnership status at Stanley H Cross & Co which was to be taken over by another firm, Kevills.
Before this, Edwards - who was impeccably dressed throughout her trial - had enjoyed frequent holidays and sported expensive rings and manicured nails.
But when Mr Edwards lost his job, she stood to lose it all.
The trial heard that the killing was to be the second attack in as many successive days in which Edwards had used a knife in anger against Mr Edwards - who she knew would never fight back or call the police.
After he was found dead, Mr Edwards's bruised and cut body revealed the extent of the regular assaults.
He had 60 external injuries, of which 30 were incised or prod wounds, including stab wounds to his thigh, knee, finger and a shallow wound to his scalp.
Before his death, Mr Edwards (right, on his wedding day) had been the victim of 'forceful bullying' and had suffered at the hands of Edwards (left, in her police mugshot) during the 'turbulent' year-long relationship
Mr Edwards was fatally stabbed in the heart with this kitchen knife on August 23 last year
Edwards claimed his injuries were a result of her alcoholic husband falling over when in drink.
Jurors heard that on the evening before the fatal attack, after returning from Majorca, Mr Edwards was found in the bathroom bleeding from his chest and leg by Edwards' 19-year-old daughter.
She had confronted her mother - who was, like her partner, a heavy drinker, and who had earlier bought four bottles of wine from an off licence. Edwards told her daughter that she had not intended to hurt him.
Mr Edwards was later seen at a local pub bleeding from an injury to his chest and head. It is thought that these were inflicted on him by his wife, who the court heard, remained 'drunkenly and callously unconcerned' at the sight of his blood.
After leaving the pub, a police officer on patrol saw Edwards shouting and screaming at her husband in the street, and she was asked to calm down.
Your bullying of him, which ended with this tragic death, has robbed people of a decent man
Mr Justice William Davis
On footage recorded on the officer's body camera, Edwards was heard telling her bloodied new husband: 'I'm gonna f****** kill ya.'
She went on to say: 'I swear David, when I wake up tomorrow I don't know what mood I'm going to be in.'
The next day the row continued and Mr Edwards was fatally stabbed.
Edwards even claimed he had 'begged' her not to phone for an ambulance and that in the hours that passed they had sex before she fell asleep on the sofa.
A black-handled kitchen knife measuring 13ins in length and stained with blood was found at their home, where torn up wedding photographs were also discovered.
In her defence, she claimed Mr Edwards walked into the knife she was holding during a row about tax credits, only hours after they returned from an all-expenses paid Spanish holiday.
But the jury, which began deliberating on Monday afternoon, disbelieved her version of events and unanimously convicted her of murder.
Before sentencing, the court heard that Edwards had previous convictions and cautions related to domestic abuse including a 2004 attack on a former partner who was bitten on the forearm and punched to the side of the face.
Mr Justice Davis said Mr Edwards was 'a hugely valued member of the community in Chorley and elsewhere'.
He read out part of a letter he received from a magistrate who sat in Chorley where Mr Edwards would regularly represent clients.
It stated: 'Over the years we have come to know David well. He was a very engaging person with a wry grin.
The couple's home in Chorley, Lancashire, where Mr Edwards was fatally stabbed, just two months after his wedding in Las Vegas
'He was always proud of his reputation and integrity as an officer of the court.
'His tragic death has affected every member of the Chorley bench, and I am sure the wider legal fraternity, very deeply.
'David was held in extremely high regard by every member of the Chorley bench.'
Addressing the defendant, the judge said: 'It is clear that was a view widely held and your bullying of him, which ended with this tragic death, has robbed people of a decent man.
'You are someone who has attacked people in the past. You have a bullying and violent nature.'
He said he was 'quite satisfied' that it was not the first time she had attacked Mr Edwards with a knife and that over the preceding months she had assaulted him on more than one occasion.
The judge added: 'This deadly attack was the culmination of long-term bullying by you on this respected member of the community.'
He said he accepted that she did not intend to kill him but that she certainly meant to cause really serious harm.
Edwards showed no emotion on delivery of the verdict or when she was led from the dock.
Her barrister, David Fish QC, said the mother-of-four was 'at a very low ebb' and had 'lost everything'.
The couple on their wedding day in Las Vegas, where Edwards had told her new husband he had shown her 'what true love is'
The couple had met in 2000, when Edwards was 27-year-old single mother whose former partner John Pritchard was on trial accused of assaulting her.
Mr Pritchard, who was cleared of any wrongdoing, was represented by Mr Edwards, a defence solicitor who cross-examined the then Sharon Manser, who presented herself as a 'domestic violence victim'.
Following the acquittal, Edwards, who had her first child aged 16, went to him for advice about a neighbour dispute, but it was not until 2014 that their paths crossed again when Mr Edwards sent her a Facebook request and the relationship developed from there.
Mr Edwards had told no less than 11 people about the abuse he was suffering at the hands of his partner, and had described her to one colleague as a 'complete nightmare', who had been 'bleeding him dry'.
Even when her own daughter called the police after one attack on Mr Edwards, no charges were brought and in a police interview Edwards had said 'more than once' that her partner was a solicitor.
Prosecutor Anne Whyte told her during the trial: 'That's just a little snapshot of you thinking you were untouchable in that regard.
'That's just one example of David Edwards being injured after a violent row with you.'
Mr Edwards' friends and colleagues became concerned for his welfare after seeing his injuries, noticing not only a decline in his appearance, but in 'his professionalism as a solicitor, in his self-respect'.
Mr Edwards, who had been popular and reputable, would turn up to work battered and bruised, after coffee tables and ashtrays were launched at him - yet he still refused to report his wife to the police.
Initially he had played down his injuries, claiming he had fallen down stairs or walked into doors, but in his final weeks, he appeared to care less and less about the visibility of his injuries.
During the trial, the court heard Edwards had called him a 'has been' in front of strangers, and even called him at work screeching, 'What sort of f****** man are you?'
Mr Edwards was said to have minimised his injuries and would say he had fallen down stairs or walked in to doors.
Upon her arrest and charge, Edwards claimed to not accept that her husband was dead, talking about him in the present and repeatedly telling police 'he's not dead'.
During her trial, Edwards claimed that she did not even like knives after one of her sons allegedly held it to her neck.
As part of her defence case she allowed a wedding video to be shown to the court in which she declared her love for her new husband in Las Vegas, describing him as 'my true love', 'soulmate' and 'lover'.
On his wedding day, Mr Edwards had to wear make-up to try to disguise a black eye, returning home with a spit lip which Edwards said was a result of his drinking.
Wearing a tiara and white sleeveless lace gown, and clutching a bouquet of lilies, she could be heard telling him: 'One year ago today you entered my life and I can honestly say you turned it upside down and swept me off my feet. You have shown me what true love is'.
But on his wedding day, Mr Edwards had to wear make-up to try to disguise a black eye, returning home with a spit lip which Edwards said was a result of his drinking.
On the last day of evidence at her trial she claimed that Mr Edwards had spiked her wine with diazepam in a 'desperate' attempt to minimise her crime.
Speaking after Edwards was sentenced today, senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Dean Holden, said the case showed how domestic abuse is 'not exclusive' to age, sex, status or profession.
'David Edwards had been a successful solicitor and a loving father to his young daughter but his life was tragically cut short after a culmination of months of abuse and violent outbursts by Sharon Edwards,' he said.
'The especially sad thing about this case is that Mr Edwards was embarrassed by the fact he was being abused by his partner, a woman, and seemed to just accept his situation, ignoring advice from friends to seek help. Had he done so, I imagine we wouldn't be at court today.
'Sharon Edwards not only abused David verbally and physically, she has also denied her guilt and therefore put his family through the ordeal of having to sit through a trial, listening to the horrendous home life he had endure, which tragically resulted in his demise and subsequent death.
'It's too late for David Edwards to get help but if you or anyone you know is suffering domestic abuse at the hands of your partner, help is out there.'
The case was dealt with outside of the Lancashire area to avoid any conflict of interest because of Mr Edwards's legal connections.
Rob Jansen, senior Crown prosecutor with Mersey-Cheshire Crown Prosecution Service, said: 'This was a tragic case of domestic abuse, with the violence by a woman against a man, and it had all the dreadful hallmarks of this type of offending.
'Sharon Edwards behaved in a domineering and possessive way with her husband and seemed to resent any of his past or even present friends, family and colleagues.
'She behaved as though she expected him to devote his entire attention and time to her and made an overbearing nuisance of herself at his work.
'She had been violent against Mr Edwards from early on in their relationship but it escalated as time went on.
'There is no evidence that he ever retaliated physically to her assaults. When he did seek help from professionals for his injuries, she often pretended to genuinely care for him.'
He added: 'Mr Edwards submitted to his wife's demands to cover up her behaviour and continued to say that he loved her. Her final claims that he had walked into the knife that killed him have clearly been rejected by the jury.
'Domestic abuse can come in all sorts of guises and this case is another in the sad catalogue of violent repressive relationships that seem to rob the victim of their power or ability to stop the violence.
'Our thoughts remain with Mr Edwards's family, friends and former colleagues at this sad time.'
TRAGIC HUSBAND DAVID EVANS SUFFERED DOMESTIC ABUSE IN SILENCE
Like many male victims of domestic violence, David Edwards (pictured) did not go to the police, choosing instead to suffer in silence
Like many male victims of domestic violence, David Edwards did not go to the police, choosing instead to suffer in silence.
Victims are often reluctant to talk about it because of their embarrassment, or fear they will not be believed.
However, figures from the Crime Survey for England and Wales suggest that 600,000 men were victims of domestic abuse in the year to March 2015, and one in six men will suffer at some point during their lifetime.
The Crown Prosecution Service says there is a 'significant' under-reporting of domestic abuse against male victims.
Mark Brooks, chairman of domestic violence charity ManKind Initiative, said abuse can range from actual violence to mental abuse such as constant bullying or insults.
It can also happen to any man, no matter what background, age, job, race or sexuality. His charity receives calls from everyone from builders to bankers and dustmen to doctors.
'This appalling tragedy proves once and for all that men, as well as women, are victims of domestic abuse,' Mr Brooks said. 'The fact that Mr Edwards was a solicitor shows that it makes no difference what background or job a man has, he can still be at risk of this terrible crime.
'It is vital that men in these abusive relationships seek help from the police, call helplines and speak to those they trust. A decade or so ago, men may struggle to have been believed, that is not the case now, there is real help out there.'
David Edwards had told no less than 11 people about the abuse he was suffering at the hands of his partner.
One former girlfriend even predicted his wife would end up killing him after he described to her how he was 'living in hell'.
Initially Mr Edwards had played down his injuries, claiming he had fallen down stairs or walked into doors.
But in his final weeks, he cared less and less about the visibility of his injuries, almost accepting them as inevitable.
As his appearance deteriorated, his dramatic weight loss became more apparent and he would go to work looking dishevelled and covered in scratches and bite marks.
In a recording of one unguarded conversation he had with Edwards, he told her: 'We are going to have to refine the excuse for my eye. You know the garage door that we made up, that doesn't wash'.
His former long-term partner Debra Livesley told the court: 'He said 'My life is hell down there, I'm living in hell'. I said 'You need to get out of the relationship, kick her out or leave her'.
'He said 'Trust me, I can't'. I said 'If you don't she is going to end up killing you'.'
Rosina McCarthy, who had worked at a local magistrates' court, witnessed Mr Edwards in court with 'part of his ear not attached and teeth marks'.
She said: 'Sharon had picked up a glass coffee table and hit him over the head with it. He had lost an awful lot of weight, his clothes were shabby, he just didn't seem to be himself.'
Former colleague Christopher Hall said: 'I told him to just get away and get to his parents, just by himself, and to think things through. He half-listened but half-didn't. He said she wouldn't let him.'
When Edwards was arrested after her daughter reported an attack, Mr Edwards refused to make a statement.
Mr Hall said: 'He said that if he refused to make a complaint and Sharon refused to answer any questions to police, no action could be taken by police.'
Anyone wanting more information can contact ManKind Initiative's confidential helpline for male victims of domestic abuse and domestic violence on 01823 334244.
No comments:
Post a Comment