Man jailed for murdering son's girlfriend

A antheral has been jailed for beingness for the execution of his son's spouse aft falsely claiming she had scammed him.

Sophie Evans' assemblage was recovered lying look down and bare connected the room level of a location successful Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, connected 5 July 2024, aft she was attacked and strangled.

Richard Jones, 50, from Burry Port, Carmarthenshire, was recovered blameworthy of execution astatine Swansea Crown Court successful January.

Jones was sentenced to beingness successful situation and indispensable service a minimum of 20 years.

Jones falsely claimed Ms Evans was "scamming" him retired of the deeds for his mother's house.

He visited her location soon aft she returned from taking her children to school, killed her and near the house.

At his trial, Jones admitted manslaughter with diminished work but denied murder, saying helium believed helium was being financially taken vantage of by the unfortunate and his son.

"Having heard each the evidence, including grounds from 2 psychiatrists, the assemblage rejected that assertion [and] convicted him of murder," elder crown authoritative Abul Hussain said successful a connection pursuing the sentencing.

"The grounds presented to the assemblage demonstrated that Richard Jones bore afloat work for his callous actions."

At the trial, the assemblage saw an speech betwixt Jones and his erstwhile partner, Tracey Thompson, successful which helium called his son, Jamie Davies, and Ms Evans "scamming thieves" and said helium had "taken attraction of the problem".

Consultant psychiatrist Dr Dilum Jayawickrama, who interviewed the defendant, said Jones was "100% definite successful his beliefs" helium had been scammed.

The tribunal heard Jones told officers helium had been taken to a solicitor's bureau by Ms Evans to motion forms, starring him to judge helium had signed implicit the deeds to his mother's house.

David Elias, defending Jones, said his client's thoughts astir being scammed were "falsely held beliefs" caused by a delusional disorder.

Mike Jones, prosecuting, said Jones "was not experiencing important affectional distress" astatine the clip of the execution and showed "callous indifference" to what helium did to his victim.

Mr Jones besides told the assemblage the suspect had "by his ain admission, a historical abbreviated fuse", and connected the time of the incidental "had mislaid his temper, attacked Sophie and strangled her, causing her death".

During Monday's hearing, Kerry Quinlan, Ms Evans' sister, work a unfortunate connection connected behalf of the household and said her decease had "changed our household forever".

"She was the stone of our household and the champion mum," she said, describing her execution arsenic a "cruel, senseless act".

She added Ms Evans' 2 daughters "cry to slumber each nighttime asking for their mum, but they volition ne'er beryllium capable to spot her again".

A idiosyncratic connection from Jamie Davies, Ms Evans' partner, was besides work to the tribunal wherever helium described her arsenic "the astir beauteous idiosyncratic I could inquire for".

"What Richard did is genuinely unforgivable," helium said.

Judge Geraint Walters antecedently said the lone condemnation the courts could walk was beingness imprisonment, describing it arsenic a "frenzied onslaught connected a pistillate successful a towel successful her ain home".

"The duration of the onslaught was abbreviated but it was frenzied and the unit you utilized meant Sophie indispensable person realised her beingness was successful danger," helium said.

"You near the spot not making immoderate calls to spot if her beingness could person been saved.

"But alternatively you near the spot calmly and went astir your regular concern of ordering a caller slope paper and buying pastries astatine a bakery. You didn't for a infinitesimal deliberation astir her. She laid dormant for hours."