Wife killer locked up for 25 yrs
A DEVIOUS husband who murdered his estranged wife and dumped her body in a shallow grave was yesterday jailed for 25 years.
Christopher Kerrell, 35, bludgeoned Hollie, 28, with a hammer before choking her to death in her home while their three children were nearby.
He then wrapped Hollie’s body, put her in his car boot and drove to his parents’ farm with the kids sitting in the back.
Having dropped the children off, he buried the corpse at a remote spot before reporting Hollie as a missing person. He sent messages to family and friends saying she had “walked out” and joined in public appeals for her to return.
But Hollie, of Knucklas, Mid Wales, was found four days after her death.
Prosecutor Peter Lewis QC said: “Kerrell brutally murdered his estranged wife in the kitchen of her home.
“He bludgeoned her to the right side of her head and then, having knocked her down, he sat astride her and began to choke the life from her body. He was later to tell police it took 10 minutes. When he was sure she was dead, he drank a cup of tea before cleaning up her blood. He started laying a false trail within minutes of her murder.”
Kerrell was caught as he returned to the grave and was seen by a neighbour, who became suspicious. Some 100 police searching for Hollie’s body focused on the area and found her hours later.
Merthyr Tydfil crown court heard the couple had been married for five years before Hollie left Kerrell due to his “jealous and possessive” behaviour. He killed her on April 22 after learning she was seeing someone new. Minutes before her death, Hollie sent a Facebook message to her foster sister, Lavinia Freeman, saying: “He’s just been in the shed and got a hammer.” Lavinia replied twice, saying: “Ring the police. NOW!”
In a victim statement, Hollie’s mum, Claire Heeley, told Kerrell: “Because of you I had to tell my grandchildren their mummy was dead and daddy was in prison because he hurt mummy so bad she had died. You took my soulmate from me and carved out my heart.”
Machine operator Kerrell pleaded guilty to murder. He was sentenced to life with a minimum of 25 years.