Tue, 18 Dec 2018
No5 Barristers’ Chambers’ David Mason QC and Samantha Crabb acted for the prosecution in a trial which saw killer John Broadhurst jailed for three years and eight months.
Broadhurst, 40, of Wolverley, left his injured and bleeding partner to die after "rough sex, informing the 999 operator on December 18, 2016, that he had found his partner dead at the bottom of the stairs.
The property developer, said to be worth £15million, was previously cleared of murdering Natalie Connolly and causing her grievous bodily harm on the directions of the judge following legal submissions part-way through the trial at Birmingham Crown Court.
Broadhurst, of Blakeshall, Wolverley, admitted Gross Negligence Manslaughter by leaving Ms Connolly unsupervised and failing to contact the emergency services in circumstances where "a risk of death as a result of her condition would have been obvious".
Explaining the Crown's decision to accept Broadhurst's plea to a lesser charge, David Mason QC told the court: "The evidence in this case, which is an extremely unusual case, has been very complicated. The family (of the victim) have been consulted and are entirely content with the view that the prosecution have taken."
The 26-year-old mother-of-one was found with more than 40 separate injuries in the hallway of a property in Kinver. A post-mortem showed she had died from acute alcohol intoxication and blunt force injuries.
Mr Mason QC had told the court: "She died on her own after she had been left there by the man who said, and still says, that he loved her. He left her at the bottom of the stairs in a dreadful physical state, heavily intoxicated and very badly injured."
To read more about the case visit: https://news.sky.com/story/millionaire-john-broadhurst-jailed-after-girlfriend-died-during-rough-sex-11583903
David Mason QC is Head of the Crime Group at No5 Barristers’ Chambers. To view his profile visit: www.no5.com/barristers/barrister-details/135-david-mason-qc/
Samantha Crabb is a member of the Crime Group at No5 Barristers’ Chambers. To view her profile visit: www.no5.com/barristers/barrister-details/497-samantha-crabb/
