Jail term for sex death case could be reviewed Family: He has showed no remorse at leaving our girl to die
AMULTI-MILLIONAIRE who left his girlfriend dying at the bottom of the stairs after a ‘rough sex’ session could see his prison sentence increased after the attorney general’s office confirmed it was considering a request to review the case.
Property developer John Broadhurst was jailed for three years and eight months on Monday after he admitted gross negligence manslaughter of 26-year-old Natalie Connolly.
The mother-of-one, was found lying in the hallway of her the home she shared with Broadhurst in Kinver, near Stourbridge, in December 2016.
She had more than 40 separate injuries, including serious internal trauma, and a post mortem showed she had died from acute alcohol intoxication and blunt force injuries.
Broadhurst, now of Blakeshall Farm in Wolverley, was cleared of murdering Natalie and causing her grievous bodily harm on the directions of the judge following legal submissions part-way through his trial at Birmingham Crown Court.
As he jailed Broadhurst for just under four years, Mr Justice Julian Knowles told the 40-year-old father-of-three: “You were capable of taking decisions and making choices. This was grossly irresponsible behaviour by you.
“You left that vulnerable young woman to die in the saddest and most avoidable of circumstances. You showed blatant disregard for a very drunk and injured woman.”
Natalie’s family later called the 40-year-old “a callous, disrespectful person” as people took to social media in droves to criticise the “disgusting” sentence .
Labour MP Harriet Harman, who previously served as solicitor general, also hit out at Broadhurst’s sentence and called for it to be formally reviewed.
She has asked the CPS why they did not proceed with a murder charge.
Ms Harman said she was “horrified” by the judge’s sentencing remarks, adding: “Who gave evidence of this ‘happy relationship?’ The offender? Not the victim, obviously, as he’d killed her.
“Bearing in mind she died of violent injuries inflicted on her by him it’s hard to see how the sentence wasn’t even four years.
“This is a very ominous development. We stopped men getting away with murder by blaming their wife’s infidelity and now we’ve got a new version of male justification for homicide. When a woman is dead she can’t speak for herself. Any man charged with killing a current or former partner or prostitute could simply say she wanted it.”
The attorney general’s office has said it is considering a member of the public’s request to review the case under the unduly lenient sentence scheme, which could see Broadhurst’s prison sentence increased at the Court of Appeal.
Natalie’s family said in a statement :
Now we’ve got a new version of male justification for homicide. When a woman is dead she can’t speak for herself MP Harriet Harman, above
“Our lives changed forever when we found out that Natalie had died.
“During the last five weeks we have had to endure hearing the most horrendous and harrowing evidence of how Broadhurst left Natalie at the bottom of the stairs bleeding and in clear need for medical help.
“Instead of getting Natalie the medical help she needed, Broadhurst chose to go to bed and sleep instead.
“It is now clear to us that the guilty admission made by Broadhurst shows the heartless way in which he left Natalie at the bottom of the stairs, without any concern for her dignity or wellbeing. He has demonstrated what a callous, disrespectful person he really is, and has never publicly apologised or shown any remorse for the cruel way in which he left my daughter.”