A lab worker who strangled and slashed the throat of a colleague he had been dating for less than a month has been branded a “monster” by the victim’s sister, who told him: “I hope she haunts you”.
Claire Newborough told Ross McCullam as he sat weeping in the dock that he was “an unpredictable menace” who had “tricked, murdered and brutalised” her younger sibling.
The porn-obsessed 30-year-old was jailed for life with a minimum term of 23 years in front of Megan Newborough’s family at Leicester Crown Court on Friday.
Image: Ross McCullam and Megan Newborough worked at the same brickmaking firm
McCullam had admitted manslaughter but was convicted of murder following a six-week trial, during which he was branded a “sadistic killer”.
Police described him as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” and believed he would have “gone on to kill again”.
McCullam and Ms Newborough, 23, had been seeing each other for about a month when he murdered her last year.
He throttled her then cut her throat with a carving knife, later telling police he did so “to make sure Megan was dead”.
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Megan Newborough’s brother speaks after Ross McCullam is sentenced for her murder
He then dumped Ms Newborough’s body in undergrowth next to a country lane in Leicestershire before trying to cover his tracks by changing his clothes and leaving a voicemail on her phone telling her that he loved her.
Sentencing McCullam for a “truly dreadful” crime, Judge Philip Head said of “stellar” Ms Newborough: “It was her dreadful misfortune to become involved in a relationship with you.”
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The victim’s older sister, Claire Newborough, said in her impact statement read to the court: “She was cruelly dumped, topless, in a cold, dark field, where the defendant thought she would never be found.
“The thing Megan hated most was feeling cold, and as her big sister, the very thought of her so cold and alone for all those hours, has destroyed me.”
Image: Ms Newborough was last seen alive in footage from a doorbell camera at her home
Turning to McCullam, who was sitting crying a few yards away, she said: “The definition of a monster is cruel, frightening and evil – and it is to my relief the defendant has been recognised as a monster.
“You are an unpredictable menace, a danger to women, obsessed with serial killers.”
Ms Newborough added: “She always thought she could fix people, but fixing evil people is not possible.
“You tricked her, murdered her, brutalised her and left her in such an undignified way.
“I hope she haunts you.”
Image: The 23-year-old was described as ‘stellar’ by the judge
Her father, Anthony Newborough, wept as he said the family had lost their “beautiful treasured daughter Megan, in such horrific circumstances”.
He added: “We are a large and close family who have been ripped apart by one evil human being.
“It is like a horror film, but it is a true story, Megan’s story, our story.
“These events have caused us so much pain and anguish we struggle that Megan, in her last moments, would have been so frightened.
“She was loved by so many and touched so many lives for those she met and left a great gaping hole that can never be filled.
“She was our princess and the defendant with his evil hands, his strength, together with his evil mind has taken her away from us forever.”
McCullam, who met Ms Newborough at the brickmaking firm Ibstock where they both worked, claimed he had killed her in a “blind rage” as a result of undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder triggered by unreported childhood sexual abuse.
Image: Ms Newborough’s family have released pictures of them enjoying time together
But the prosecution dismissed his as a “pack of lies” and said McCullam murdered Ms Newborough because of his anger at being sexually impotent immediately prior to the attack.
Prosecutors pointed to his having ordered tadalafil pills off the internet, used to treat erectile dysfunction.
He searched the internet for pornography and looked up details of serial killers including Levi Bellfield, Ian Huntley and Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe, in the hours after he disposed of Ms Newborough’s body.
Knowing she was dead, he called Ms Newborough’s phone and left a voice message saying: “I had a fun time earlier.”
On remand, McCullam had also bragged to a cellmate about using the knife, and suggested he would use his mental health as a “tool” at trial.
In another incident, he was overheard on a prison landing by a guard laughing as he told other inmates “If you carry on like this, you’ll end up like Megan”.
Another prison warder also heard him joking openly with other inmates about the killing, telling them “if I had gone a bit further I’d have taken her head off”.
Migrants convicted of sex offences in the UK or overseas will be unable to claim asylum under government plans to change the law to improve border security.
The Home Office announcement means foreign nationals who are added to the sex offenders register will forfeit their rights to protection under the Refugee Convention.
As part of the 1951 UN treaty, countries are allowed to refuse asylum to terrorists, war criminals and individuals convicted of a “particularly serious crime” – which is currently defined in UK law as an offence carrying a sentence of 12 months or more.
The government now plans to extend that definition to include all individuals added to the Sex Offenders’ Register, regardless of the length of sentence, in an amendment to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, which is currently going through parliament. It’s understood they also hope to include those convicted of equivalent crimes overseas.
Those affected will still be able to appeal their removal from the UK in the courts under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
Image: More than 10,000 people have now been detected crossing the Channel. Pic: PA
It is unclear how many asylum seekers will be affected, as the government has been unable to provide any projections or past data on the number of asylum seekers added to the Sex Offenders’ Register.
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Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Sex offenders who pose a risk to the community should not be allowed to benefit from refugee protections in the UK.
“We are strengthening the law to ensure these appalling crimes are taken seriously.”
Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls Minister Jess Philips said: “We are determined to achieve our mission of halving violence against women and girls in a decade.
“That’s exactly why we are taking action to ensure there are robust safeguards across the system, including by clamping down on foreign criminals who commit heinous crimes like sex offences.”
The Home Office would like voters to see this as a substantial change. But that’s hard to demonstrate without providing any indication of the scale of the problem it seeks to solve.
Clearly, the government does not want to fan the flames of resentment towards asylum seekers by implying large numbers have been committing sex crimes.
But amid rising voter frustration about the government’s grip on the issue, and under pressure from Reform – this measure is about signalling it is prepared to take tough action.
Conservatives: ‘Too little, too late’
The Conservatives claim Labour are engaged in “pre-election posturing”.
Chris Philp MP, the shadow home secretary, said: “This is too little, too late from a Labour government that has scrapped our deterrent and overseen the worst year ever for small boat crossings – with a record 10,000 people crossing this year already.
“Foreign criminals pose a danger to British citizens and must be removed, but so often this is frustrated by spurious legal claims based on human rights claims, not asylum claims.”
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Has Labour tackled migration?
The Home Office has also announced plans to introduce a 24-week target for appeal hearings (known as “first-tier tribunals”) to be held for rejected asylum seekers living in taxpayer-supported accommodation, or for foreign national offenders.
The current average wait is 50 weeks. The idea is to cut the asylum backlog and save taxpayers money – Labour have committed to end the use of asylum hotels by the end of this parliament.
It’s unclear how exactly this will be achieved, although a number of additional court days have already been announced.
The government also plans to crack down on fake immigration lawyers who advise migrants on how to lodge fraudulent asylum claims, with the Immigration Advice Authority given new powers to issue fines of up to £15,000.
A 14-year-old girl who attempted to murder two teachers and a pupil at a school in Wales has been sentenced to 15 years in detention.
The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was previouslyfound guilty of attempting to murder teachers Fiona Elias and Liz Hopkin and a pupil at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman in Ammanford.
Emergency services were called to the school on 24 April last year, in what the trial heard was a “serious episode of violence” during the mid-morning break after the girl took her father’s fishing “multi-tool” to school.
She had admitted to three counts of wounding with intent and possession of a bladed article on a school premises, but a jury found her guilty of attempted murder in February after a week-long trial.
Following her arrest, the teenager told officers she was “pretty sure” the incident would be on the news, and added “that’s one way to be a celebrity”.
Both Mrs Elias and Mrs Hopkin “received significant and serious injuries”, Swansea Crown Court heard.
Mrs Hopkin was airlifted to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff after she sustained “four stab wounds”, while Mrs Elias and the pupil also attended hospital for treatment.
Image: Ammanford in Carmarthenshire
‘Changed my life forever’
Reading her victim personal statement from the witness box on Monday, Fiona Elias said the incident had shown her that life was “fragile” and had been “a steep learning curve”.
“Walking out on duty that day would change my life forever,” she said – a moment which “replays itself over and over no matter how much time passes”.
“It’s not easy, and I know I’ll continue to face challenges, but every day I’m taking step towards healing,” Mrs Elias said.
Addressing the defendant, Mrs Elias said “your motive was clear, you intended to murder me” but that she was stopped “thanks to Liz’s selfless actions”.
She said she was not “ruling out the possibility of a meeting with [the pupil] in the future,” but that she first needed to know she would “engage with the interventions that will be put in place”.
Outlining her plans to campaign for safer working conditions at schools, Mrs Elias said: “I never expected to give my blood, but I will always give my heart to Ysgol Dyffryn Aman and to the world of education.”
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The teenager, who can’t be named, is due to be sentenced in April.
‘Right place at the right time’
Liz Hopkin said it had been “the worst experience of [her] life” but that she was “glad” she was “in the right place at the right time” to protect Mrs Elias.
“I’m still here, I’m still alive, though at the time I was sure that I was going to die,” she told the court.
“Physically, my wounds have healed but the scars remain.”
Mrs Hopkin added that the thought of returning to a career in teaching now filled her with “anxiety and dread”.
“You were prepared to kill someone you did not know,” she said, addressing the defendant, who sat in the court for proceedings, until she moved to the dock for sentence.
“The decision to end my life was never yours to make.”
But Mrs Hopkin said she worried about the defendant’s future, adding: “I don’t want you to be punished forever but I do want you to take every opportunity to make your life better.”
Concluding her victim personal statement, Mrs Hopkin said: “It has changed me in ways I never wanted and that is something I will have to live with for the rest of my life.”
Image: Pic: PA
‘Very complex young girl’
Prosecuting, William Hughes KC said aggravating factors in the case included use of a knife, the fact two of the victims were “carrying out a public service” and that the offending took place in public.
In mitigation, Caroline Rees KC said the defendant was “a very complex young girl”.
She said she had shown remorse, had a “difficult background” and also the fact there were two trials.
Handing down his sentence, Judge Paul Thomas said the defendant would serve half of the 15-year sentence before she can be considered for release.
Addressing the defendant, he said: “What you did in school almost a year ago the day has caused a large number of people a great deal of harm and upset. It has hugely affected many lives, including, of course, your own.”
“The simple fact is you tried to kill three people, two teachers and another pupil,” he added.
“I think that it is very important here that what you did you did in full of so many other pupils…In my view you wanted as many of your fellow pupils as possible to see what you intended to do.”
The Judge added that “for one reason or other, [the defendant wasn’t] really listening” to the victim impact statements of Mrs Elias and Mrs Hopkin.
He said he did not think the teenager was “genuinely sorry” for what she did, adding: “You showed no emption or even interest in how they felt that day or ever since.”