Strangled in sex game, the woman who met her killer at a bus stop
A MAN who strangled a young woman to death while they were having sex was yesterday facing years in jail.
Chloe Miazek died at the hands of 32-year-old Mark Bruce only two hours after meeting him at a bus stop.
The High Court in Aberdeen was told that the pair had a ‘shared interest’ in ‘erotic asphyxiation’. Miss Miazek, 20, died within seconds of being seized by the neck.
Bruce, who had originally faced a charge of murder, admitted culpable homicide.
Miss Miazek’s family later said they found her death, only nine days before her 21st birthday, ‘difficult to comprehend’.
The court was told that shop assistant Miss Miazek, of Kemnay, Aberdeenshire, had been out with friends in Aberdeen last November before being thrown out of a nightclub for being drunk.
She walked to a bus stop where Bruce, who had also been drinking heavily, struck up a conversation with her. The pair then went to his flat near the city centre.
Hours later, Bruce was seen on CCTV leaving his flat and wandering the streets before heading to Rosemount Police Station where he told officers over the intercom: ‘I’ve done something terrible. I’ve killed someone. There’s a female in my bed.’
Advocate depute Jo McDonald told the court: ‘His explanation is he placed his hands around her neck during sexual intercourse and the evidence is consistent with that. The evidence suggests death is likely to have been quick, seconds rather than minutes. The extent of the injuries suggested not much force being used.
‘During a medical examination, the accused indicated to the doctor they had had intercourse around 3.30am and the forensic findings confirm that.’
Brian McConnachie, QC, defending, said: ‘Evidence has been dison
‘Death is likely to have been quick’
closed to the defence from a previous partner that sexual asphyxiation was something Miss Miazek was interested in. Her former partner always declined.
‘I don’t wish to sound like I’m suggesting she was the author of her own misfortune but it is a significant factor. The accused can’t recall the specifics of what went but it seems that they had something of a shared interest in that particular practice.
‘He recalls that all of a sudden it changed from everything being all right to her being dead.
‘It is accepted by the Crown that there was no intention to kill and no wicked recklessness to suggest a murderous purpose.’
Judge Lord Kinclaven deferred sentence until April 5 and remanded Bruce, described as a prisoner at HMP Barlinnie, in custody. In a statement released afterwards, Miss Miazek’s parents, Bob and Theresa, said: ‘We are absolutely devastated following the death of our beautiful daughter. She was in the prime of her life and had so much to look forward to, and it is difficult for us to comprehend that she is not here with us today.’
Detective Inspector Gary Winter said the family had faced a ‘living nightmare’. He added: ‘I can only hope that today’s outcome and admission of guilt can help in some small way.’