Millionaire who killed girlfriend after ‘rough sex’ loses sentence appeal
By James Hockaday, November 14, 2019
A property tycoon who left his girlfriend to bleed to death after a brutal S&M session has lost a legal bid to cut his three year and eight month sentence.
John Broadhurst left 26-year-old Natalie Connolly ‘drunk and bleeding’ at the foot of the stairs of their home in Kinver, near Stourbridge, West Midlands.
The court heard how he ‘totally lost it’ after binging on cocaine and alcohol before calling emergency services hours later on the morning of December 18 2016.
He told operators his partner, who had suffered more than 40 separate injuries, was as ‘dead as a doughnut’ as she lay in a pool of blood.
A post-mortem examination showed she had suffered bleach burns on her face, serious internal trauma, a fractured eye socket and vaginal bleeding.
The trial at Birmingham Crown Court heard how some of her injuries resulted from drunkenly falling over and were not caused by Broadhurst.
The businessman was jailed in December last year after admitting manslaughter by gross negligence for failing to get medical help for the mum-of-one.
Broadhurst, 41, of Wolverley, near Kidderminster, argued his sentence was too long and challenged it at a hearing at the Court of Appeal today.
But three senior judges rejected this and said the term was ‘not manifestly excessive’.
Lord Justice Holroyde, sitting with Mr Justice Warby and Judge Sarah Munro QC, said the Crown Court judge was ‘entitled’ to take account of the fact that Ms Connolly’s need for medical attention partly arose from injuries inflicted by Broadhurst.
He told the court: ‘We agree with the observation of the judge that to ignore that fact would be to ignore an important feature of the case.’ ‘
We are quite unable to accept the proposition that (Broadhurst’s) gross negligence was of brief duration, partly excused by his own intoxication and to be assessed on a basis which ignored his own role in Ms Connolly’s injuries and intoxicated state.’
The millionaire was initially tried for murder but was cleared of the charge on the judge’s direction.
He admitted manslaughter by leaving Ms Connolly unsupervised and for failing to contact emergency services in circumstances where a ‘risk of death as a result of her condition’ would have been obvious.
Lord Justice Holroyde told the court Broadhurst was in a ‘loving relationship’ with Ms Connolly, who was five times the drink driving limit when she died.
Members of Ms Connolly’s family sat in the public gallery and listened as Broadhurst’s barrister made submissions on his behalf.
Lord Justice Holroyde said the court had read statements which he said made clear the ‘pain and suffering’ her death has caused them.
He added: ‘On any view, this offence has not only ended one life, but has blighted many others.’
——————-End
Source: Metro UK
