Court Case Result - Criminal Sentence
- Country
- England & Wales
- Hearing Date
- 3 November 2015
- Court Location
- Exeter Crown Court
- Judge
- Judge Francis Gilbert QC
- Case Number
- T20157021
- Name
- James Luke McDonald
- Gender
- Male
- Age
- 37
- Co-Defendant/s
- No
- Bail Position
- In Custody
Offence/s
- Length
- Life
Sentencing Considerations
- Victim Personal Statement
- Yes
Sentencing Details
- Public Protection Sentence
- Minimum to Serve - Years: 17 Months: 6
- Total Sentence
- 17 Years 6 Months - Life
- Parole Eligibility Date (PED)
- 2/5/2033
- Sentenced Upon
- Guilty Plea
- Distinguishing Features / Details
- He pleaded guilty to the murder of his 36-year-old estranged wife in Dawlish, Devon, on 28 January 2015. His victim went to take photos of the flat, which was one of the joint assets in their disputed divorce settlement, when he attacked her. He hit her to the face and head before strangling her with an electric cord. He then rolled her body onto a duvet and plastic sheets and secured it with tape before putting bin bags around her head and feet. He moved his victims car from opposite his flat and told police that she had left his home alive (after she failed to pick up her three children from school). He changed his plea after the judge ruled that his claim to have had a sudden loss of self control should not go before a jury because it required "circumstances of an extremely grave character that caused the defendant to have a justifiable sense of being seriously wronged".
The Judge said:"I have read the victim impact statements from the family. The distress which you have caused to them and to your children both to date and in the future is obvious and needs no repetition... aggravating features are that the deceased must have suffered significant physical suffering before death and you plainly intended to remove and conceal the body so it was not found... You clearly intended to kill her. I will give you the benefit of the doubt as regards premeditation. You acted in temper but whatever she may have done does not mitigate the sentence" - Online Resources
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Legal Teams & Authorities
- Chambers
- Guildhall Chambers
- Barrister
- Richard Lloyd Smith KC
- Authority
- CPS South West (CPS Devon)
- Chambers
- Farrar's Building
- Barrister
- Ian Stephen Unsworth KC
- Police Area
- Devon & Cornwall Police
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