GUILTY OF MURDER
Jury finds pair guilty of murdering Nuneaton mum-of-4 in house
ELIZABETH Ellis and Dominic Wallis have been found guilty of the murder of Nuneaton mum-of-four Dionne Clark following a lengthy trial at Birmingham Crown Court.
In addition Dominic Wallis’s parents Karen and Kingsley Wallis were found guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice. The foreman of the jury told Judge Simon Drew that the jury had reached unanimous verdicts on the four defendants.
She told a hushed courtroom first that Elizabeth Ellis had been found guilty of murder and then that Dominic Wallis had also been found guilty of murder.
This was followed by guilty verdicts for Karen Wallis and Kingsley Wallis for perverting the course of justice.
As the first verdict was read out Elizabeth Ellis looked shocked and shook her head from behind the glass screen separating the courtroom from the dock. Dominic Wallis remained emotionless.
The public gallery was packed, mainly with members of 27-year-old Dionne Clark’s family and her mother sobbed as the verdicts were read out.
Miss Clark’s body was discovered on the evening of Saturday, June 17, and she had suffered 69 injuries to her head and face, including an injury to her brain.
She was beaten up and restrained using parcel tape, duct tape and the cable from a TV aerial.
Wallis, 28, and 20-year-old Ellis, who are both from Nuneaton, denied murder and blamed each other for the attack on Miss Clark at his home in Cornish Close, off Ansley Common.
After the Clark family left the court they could be heard cheering from outside the courtroom.
Judge Drew adjourned sentencing until 2pm on Monday, February 12, though he said there was a possibility it might have to be further adjourned to allow for medical reports to be completed.
Following the verdicts the family of Dionne Clark paid tribute to her.
In a statement they said: “We have no words to describe how these two people have caused us to feel.
“They took our Dionne in such a brutal way and that loss is unbearable.
“They have denied her children the love and support of her mum and denied Dionne the chance to see her nieces and nephews grow.
“Our hearts are broken at the thought that we will never see her again.
“However, they can never take away the memories of our caring, kind, funny girl.
“These memories will keep us strong through the dark times ahead.
“Dionne was a beautiful daughter, a fantastic mother and a great sister.
“She was sensitive, caring and compassionate and would think nothing of going out of her way to help others.
“She touched so many people’s lives in a positive way. Words cannot express what her loss means to all her family and friends – we remain heartbroken and totally devastated.
“We would like to thank all those that have supported the family and helped bring the successful prosecution.
“We now ask that the media respect our privacy going forward as we will be giving no further comment.”
Detective Sergeant Owen Fell from Warwickshire Police said he was pleased with the verdict. He said: “Dionne Clark was a young woman who had her whole life ahead of her.
“Dominic Wallis and Elizabeth Ellis ended her life early, in an attack that left her with 69 separate injuries.
“Since the start of the investigation, Dominic Wallis and Elizabeth Ellis have lied to cover their tracks and throughout the trial they have blamed each other for Dionne’s death.
“This verdict shows that both Dominic Wallis and Elizabeth Ellis were responsible and they will now face the consequences of their actions.
“I’d like to pay tribute to Dionne’s family, they’ve shown dignity and poise throughout both the investigation and the trial, and I’m sure Dionne’s death will leave a huge hole in their lives.
“I’d also like to pay tribute to the officers and staff who have worked on this investigation from the start. This verdict is a testament to their hard work.”