15 December 2023 , 14:27
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A callous thug has been found guilty of murdering his former partner and dumping her body by a lay-by near the M1 motorway.
Darren Hall killed 31-year-old Sarah Henshaw at her home in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, during an argument and disposed of her body in woodland near a lay-by on the westbound A617 near Chesterfield, 20 miles away.
Ms Henshaw was last seen alive near her home on June 20, with Hall, 36, lying to friends, family and the police that she had gone missing before her body was found on June 26.
Bruising on her neck was "about the width of a dressing gown cord", prosecutors told Hall's trial at Derby Crown Court, with jurors taking just over three hours to unanimously convict him of murder on Friday after a two-week trial.
Ms Henshaw suffered at the hands of a 'manipulative, deceiving and dangerous individual' (Derbyshire Police)Adjourning sentencing to Tuesday, Mr Justice Goss said: "Darren Hall you have been convicted by the jury of murder. As you will know, the sentence of the court will have to be imprisonment for life, but I have to consider the minimum term before which you could be considered eligible for parole."
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The judge also thanked the jury for their service, which he said they performed "diligently and conscientiously". Prosecutors told the trial that Hall had killed Ms Henshaw during an argument and "callously dumped" her body near the layby on the night of June 20. Hall had entered the house in Norman Street using his key while Ms Henshaw was out and stayed despite multiple requests for him to leave.
Phone data then showed Hall travelling to and returning from the lay-by in the early hours of June 21, stopping for nine minutes, prosecutor Michelle Heeley KC said.
"This was a well-chosen, well-thought-out spot, hoping that she would not be found," Ms Heeley said. Before his arrest on June 23, Hall was also seen disposing of her belongings including her dressing gown and her slippers in a skip and at a recycling centre, which Ms Heeley told jurors was him "covering his tracks" through "calculated and controlled" actions.
While the Crown said it could not be sure how Ms Henshaw died due to her body having decomposed, jurors heard evidence of how Hall was "physically abusive" to Ms Henshaw during their turbulent relationship, which had ended by the time of her death.
In his evidence, Hall, from Ilkeston, said Ms Henshaw died by inadvertently falling down the stairs but said he "just panicked" when he moved her body to the lay-by, adding that there was "no real, reasonable reason" as to why he did so. He also admitted using Ms Henshaw's phone to text her friend and disposing of her possessions to make others believe that Ms Henshaw was alive and had gone missing voluntarily, adding in his evidence that he was "not thinking right" at the time.
He remained silent in the dock as the verdict was returned, with members of Ms Henshaw's family - many of whom have packed the public gallery throughout the trial - weeping and clapping.
Following the verdict, DI Maria Pleace, who led the investigation for Derbyshire Constabulary, said: "Darren Hall is a manipulative, deceiving and dangerous individual.
"Thankfully the jury saw through his lies and have rightly found him guilty. Today, as they have been throughout this case, my thoughts are with Sarah's family and friends. They have lost a much-loved niece, daughter, sister, mother and friend in the most heart-breaking circumstances and I hope that this verdict provides them with the justice they, and Sarah, deserve.
"I want to thank them for their steadfastness over the past months and for the support they have provided to the investigation team - a team that have worked tirelessly to build a case that led the jury to today's verdict."