Lying bully who murdered mum is jailed for 27 years
A ‘VIOLENT and controlling’ bully who murdered a mother-of-five has been jailed for a minimum of 27 years.
Alan Edwards, 48, pretended he last saw Susan Waring when he claimed she kissed him goodbye and walked out of his flat in Darwen, near Bolton, on January 30, 2019.
But a murder trial at Preston Crown Court heard Edwards was a ‘bully’ who killed the 45-year-old, disposed of her body – which has never been found – and then attempted to cover his tracks.
After Edwards was arrested in March 2019, a forensic examination of his flat found more than 100 blood spots and traces of Ms Waring’s DNA on a rubber Halloween skull mask worn by the defendant, who struck her at close proximity.
Ms Waring’s mother reported her missing but, despite extensive police inquiries, her whereabouts are unknown and there is no evidence to say she is alive, the court heard.
Edwards was also convicted of offences against four other women, including causing grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and making threats to kill.
The women said they too were subjected to violent and controlling behaviour from Edwards at various times dating back to the 1990s.
A jury heard Edwards began a relationship with Ms Waring, who had some learning difficulties, in late 2018 and from the outset it was “turbulent and violent”. A neighbour said she moved out of the adjoining flat in fear of her own safety after she had heard near constant arguing and shouting between a man and a woman since living there from November 2018.
She said she never met either of them but recalled the man would often call the woman ‘stupid’ and ‘a dumb baby.’
She added: “I heard her once say ‘let me out, I want to get out.’ He said ‘you can’t leave, what are you going to do about it?’”
Another neighbour said he witnessed Edwards punch Ms Waring in the face a fortnight before she disappeared. He said: “Her last words to me was ‘he always hits me.’”
The last confirmed public sighting of Ms Waring was when she was shopping with Edwards in Darwen on January 29 where her bank card was used to buy a stuffed meerkat toy. In the days that followed, Edwards appealed via Facebook for Ms Waring to return or make contact but an examination of his phone showed he was also visiting the website flirtymoms. com with ‘increasing regularity.’ He claimed he didn’t know why she vanished.