Park predator jailed for 31 years for sex murder of student, 18
A PREDATOR who roamed a beauty spot looking for victims was jailed for life yesterday after savagely murdering a teenage girl.
Mark Buckley, 52, stalked Orrell Water Park in Wigan hunting female victims.
Manchester Crown Court heard he spotted college student Ellen Higginbottom, 18, last June as she enjoyed a stroll.
Buckley was sentenced to life with a minimum of 31 years after admitting her “sexually motivated, premeditated” murder.
Jailing him, Judge David Stockdale QC described Buckley as “cowardly and callous”.
He told him: “You entered the park intending attacking and sexually assaulting a female.
“You were carrying a bag later seen to contain items for sexual activity, together with a length of rope and cord, a knife.”
Explaining how Miss Higginbottom had never met her attacker before that day, the judge said she was not able to offer much resistance.
The judge added: “Despite that, her wounds indicated she tried albeit in vain to defend herself. You subjected her to a savage and brutal attack. You inflicted many wounds in cutting her throat and killing her.
“It was as cowardly and callous as it was brutal. She simply did not stand a chance.”
The court heard the teenager had taken a break from A-level study revision at Winstanley College in Orrell, Wigan, on the afternoon of June 16.
Miss Higginbottom, who dreamed of being a vet, strolled in the nearby water park intending to meet up later with friends who were sitting exams.
Buckley, of Preston, Lancashire, had earlier chatted to other lone females before walking away. But when he spotted Miss Higginbottom he overpowered her. Buckley returned to bury her but fled when he saw a police helicopter overhead.
Prosecutor Peter Wright QC said when Buckley was later arrested he admitted the murder but could not explain why.