Man accused of killing ex-girlfriend was ‘physically abusive’, court told

Published

1 year ago

December 8, 2023

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A man accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend and dumping her body close to a lay-by was “physically abusive” towards her in the months before her death, a court has heard.

Darren Hall, 36, denies killing Sarah Henshaw at her home in Ilkeston, Derbyshire – and disposing of her body 20 miles away in woodland close to the westbound A617 near Chesterfield in June.

Derby Crown Court heard on Friday that Ms Henshaw was “beaten up” by Hall after the pair attended an N-Dubz concert in Manchester in December last year.

Chloe Crofts, who was in a relationship with Ms Henshaw’s brother at the time, told the court they were woken up by the 31-year-old in the night.

“At two, three o’clock we got a banging on the door. It was Sarah,” she said. “She was in a state. He had beaten her up.”

Ms Crofts, giving evidence from behind a curtain, added: “(She was) upset, crying, angry, just did not know what to do with herself. She had bruises all over her. She said ‘he has beaten me up’.”

When asked by prosecutor Michelle Heeley KC what injuries Ms Henshaw had sustained, Ms Crofts said: “There was a bruise on her eye, bruises on her arms and later that morning she showed me her legs and there were bruises on her legs and one around her neck.”

Ms Heeley asked: “Other than saying he had beaten her up, did she give any details about how that happened?”

Ms Crofts replied: “The bruise on her leg, she said that he had stamped on her.”

Ms Heeley asked: “When she said ‘he’, who was she referring to?”

“Darren Hall,” Ms Crofts replied.

Ms Crofts said she took photos of the injuries on her phone because Ms Henshaw asked her to. These images were shown to the jury.

Ms Croft also told jurors that throughout Hall and Ms Henshaw’s relationship, he “always wanted to know where she was, what she was doing and who she was with”.

In cross-examination, defence KC Andrew Vout asked whether Ms Henshaw had mentioned she had drunk “two bottles of wine” at the concert and had repeatedly fallen over, including into parked cars, before returning from the gig.

Ms Crofts said she could not recall Ms Henshaw mentioning it, but that she did not believe Ms Henshaw was drunk.

The Crown alleges Hall killed Ms Henshaw on the night of 20 June and “callously dumped” her body.

He used Ms Henshaw’s phone to text friends and neighbours to pretend she was still alive, telling them that she had gone missing while disposing of her belongings at a recycling centre and in a skip, Ms Heeley told the court on Wednesday.

Ms Henshaw was last seen alive on the evening of 20 June, with her body not discovered until six days later.

After his arrest, Hall told police Ms Henshaw fell down the stairs during an argument, but Ms Heeley said there were no marks on the stairs and bruising found on Ms Henshaw’s neck was “about the width of a dressing gown cord”.

In his evidence, Ms Henshaw’s brother, Callum Stevenson, said he also saw Hall “get quite physically abusive” towards his sister in an incident at the defendant’s address in Ilkeston in 2016.

“Sarah was going up the stairs and Darren grabbed her by the arm and neck and pushed her into the bedroom,” he said.

He also told jurors he overheard his sister telling their mother about physical abuse on “multiple occasions” and accused Hall of “being emotionally abusive at the same time”.

“I can’t give specifics of what he did to her but it was, a lot of the time, physical abuse,” he said. “Sometimes she had bruises to her arms, face and so on.”

Mr Stevenson said he also recalled the incident after the N-Dubz concert, and that Ms Henshaw had said “Darren had beaten her up”.

The trial continues.

UK

Passengers travelling to Heathrow Airport face delays on M4 after car catches fire in tunnel

Published

10 hours ago

March 10, 2025

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Passengers travelling to Heathrow Airport face delays on M4 after car catches fire in tunnel

Passengers travelling to Heathrow Airport are facing delays on the road after a vehicle caught fire in a tunnel.

“Due to an earlier vehicle fire, road access to Terminals 2 and 3 is partially restricted,” the airport said in a post on X shortly before 7am.

“Passengers are advised to leave more time travelling to the airport and use public transport where possible.

“We apologise for the disruption caused.”

AA Roadwatch said one lane was closed and there was “queueing traffic” due to a vehicle fire on Tunnel Road “both ways from Terminals 2 and 3 to M4 Spur Road (Emirates roundabout)”.

“Congestion to the M4 back along the M4 Spur, and both sides on the A4. Down to one lane each way through one tunnel…,” it added.

National Highways: East said in an update: “Traffic officers have advised that the M4 southbound spur Heathrow in Greater London between the J4 and J4A has now been reopened.”

The agency warned of “severe delays on the approach” to the airport, recommended allowing extra time to get there and thanked travellers for their patience.

The London Fire Brigade said in a post on X just before at 7.51am it was called “just before 3am” to a car fire in a tunnel near HeathrowAirport.

“Firefighters attended and extinguished the fire, which involved a diesel-powered vehicle. No one was hurt and the airport has now confirmed the tunnel has re-opened.”

Travellers writing on social media reported constrasting experiences, with @ashleyark calling it “complete chaos on all surrounding roads”, but @ClaraCouchCASA said she “went to T5 and got the express to T3”, describing the journey as “very easy and no time delay at all. 7am this morning. Hope this helps others”.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

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UK

Man arrested on suspicion of murder after woman shot dead in Talbot Green, South Wales

Published

11 hours ago

March 10, 2025

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Man arrested on suspicion of murder after woman shot dead in Talbot Green, South Wales

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a 40-year-old woman was shot dead in South Wales.

The woman was found with serious injuries just after 6pm on Sunday and died at the scene despite the efforts of emergency services.

She was discovered in the Green Park area of Talbot Green, a town about 15 miles west of Cardiff.

A 42-year-old local man is in police custody.

Detective Chief Inspector James Morris said: “I understand the concern this will cause the local community, and I want to reassure people that a team of experienced detectives are already working at pace to piece together the events of last night.”

South Wales Police said a number of crime scenes have been set up and road closures are in place.

UK

Drivers ‘confused’ by transition to electric vehicles, ministers warned

Published

11 hours ago

March 10, 2025

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Drivers 'confused' by transition to electric vehicles, ministers warned

UK drivers are “confused” by the country’s electric car transition, ministers are being warned.

Although most drivers are not hostile towards electric vehicles (EVs), many are confused about what changes are coming and when, according to new research from the AA.

In a survey of more than 14,000 AA members, 7% thought the government was banning the sale of used petrol and diesel cars.

Around a third thought manual EVs exist, despite them all being automatic.

More than one in five said they would never buy an EV.

The government’s plan for increasing the number of electric vehicles being driven in the UK focuses heavily on increasing the supply of the vehicles.

In 2024, at least 22% of new cars and 10% of new vans sold by each manufacturer in the UK had to be zero-emission, which generally means pure electric.

Each year, those percentages will rise, reaching 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans in 2030.

Manufacturers will face fines of £15,000 per vehicle if electric vehicle sales fall short of 28% of total production this year.

By 2035, all new cars and vans will be required to be fully zero emission, according to the Department for Transport.

Second-hand diesel and petrol cars will still be allowed to be sold after this date, and their fuel will still be available.

There are more EVs – but will people buy them?

In February, 25% of new cars were powered purely by battery and in January, they made up 21% of all new cars registered in the UK.

But despite the growth of electric sales, manufacturers continue to warn that the market will not support the growth required to hit government EV targets, and called for consumer incentives and the extension of tax breaks.

The AA suggested the government’s plan focuses on “supply but does little to encourage demand for EVs”.

It called on ministers to co-ordinate a public awareness campaign alongside the motoring industry which directly targets drivers who doubt the viability of EVs.

“Our message to government is more needs to be done to make EVs accessible for everyone,” said Jakob Pfaudler, AA chief executive.

Which? head of consumer rights Sue Davis said: “When it comes to making sustainable choices such as switching to an electric car, our research shows that people are often held back by high costs, complex choices or uncertainty.

“The government needs to provide the right information on electric vehicles and other sustainable choices so that people have the confidence to switch.”

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We’re investing over £2.3bn to help industry and consumers make a supported switch to EVs.

“This includes installing a public charge point every 28 minutes, keeping EV incentives in the company car tax regime to 2030, and extending 100% first-year allowances for zero-emission cars for another year.

“Second-hand EVs are also becoming cheaper than ever, with one in three available under £20,000 and 21 brand new models available for less than £30,000.

“We’re seeing growing consumer confidence as a result.”