16 years for jealous police officer who throttled ex-lover
A POLICEMAN flew into a jealous rage and tried to kill his ex-partner by throttling her and putting a plastic bag over her head when she texted her new boyfriend.
James Riley, 28, was yesterday jailed for 16 years for attempted murder after his attempt on academic Ellie Moxham’s life.
As his victim lay struggling to breathe and with what a paramedic later found to be signs of a life-threatening brain injury, Riley spent 11 minutes on the phone to his parents – telling them ‘I’ve killed Ellie’ – before calling an ambulance then fleeing.
Ms Moxham, then aged 24 and a PhD student at Lancaster University, was initially put into an induced coma and spent a day in intensive care.
She still has a long-lasting brain injury from oxygen deprivation, Manchester Crown Court heard.
The two- minute attack on November 10, 2022, happened after Ms Moxham was ‘ persuaded’ to watch a concert by
Norwegian singer Sigrid in Manchester, which the former couple had booked months earlier, and stay the night in a hotel.
Riley hoped to ‘rekindle’ their relationship, which began when they were both undergraduates at Lancaster, the court heard.
Alex Leach KC, prosecuting, said Riley flew into a rage after Ms Moxham texted her new partner, Alex Gough.
It followed ‘a history of jealousy, abuse or coercive behaviour,’ Mr Leach said.
Sentencing, Judge Patrick Field, KC, said: ‘As a result of becoming consumed by an uncontrollable anger and a jealous rage, you attacked her with murderous intent.’
Ms Moxham, who is continuing her environmental studies PhD and is also a lecturer, said ‘putting into words’ how the attack has impacted her life ‘seems impossible’, as she read a victim impact statement from behind a curtain in court.
Riley initially admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent but pleaded guilty to attempted murder last November.
The court heard Riley would berate Ms Moxham about the cleanliness of the house they bought in Preston in 2021.
When Riley was sacked by Lancashire Police last year she was left with responsibility for the mortgage and forced into debt.
Mr Leach said the attack came after the two entered their room around 11pm. Riley called an ambulance at 11.27pm, saying Ms Moxham was breathing ‘raspy’.
He took a taxi to his parents’ home in Bradford, arriving around 4am, where his mother called police. Riley escaped through a bathroom window but was found by officers nearby.