‘Rough sex’ killer to walk free after only 2 years
A MULTI-MILLIONAIRE property developer jailed for the ‘rough sex killing’ of his partner is to be freed after serving less than two years.
John Broadhurst’s girlfriend Natalie Connolly, 26, was found with 40 separate injuries including serious internal trauma and a fractured eye socket after a drink and drug-fuelled masochistic sex session.
Broadhurst, 41, who left the mother-of-one to die at the foot of the stairs, was cleared of murder and jailed for three years, eight months in December 2018 for manslaughter.
His sentence sparked an outcry and led to a ban earlier this month on the so-called ‘rough sex defence’ where attackers argue victims were injured in consensual violence.
But Broadhurst is now to be released within weeks, less than halfway into his 44-month sentence.
Miss Connolly’s MP Mark Garnier, who was part of the campaign to outlaw the rough sex defence said: ‘There is no justice in this. There never has been for Natalie. She was deprived of her life and reputation by this man and he got 18 months for it. She was just a fairly normal, fun-loving mother who, like most people, wanted a nice, happy relationship with someone she loved.’
He said Broadhurst’s release was yet another blow for Miss Connolly’s family, who had asked the Attorney General to increase his sentence.
At his trial, prosecutors alleged Broadhurst – said to be worth £15million – killed Miss Connolly in a rage after finding she had sent a topless photo to another man. But Broadhurst denied this, claiming she had wanted masochistic sex.
After discovering her injured at the bottom of the stairs, he went to bed and did not call police until the next day. Broadhurst denied murder and an alternative count of causing grievous bodily harm, and was cleared on the directions of the judge.
He admitted manslaughter by leaving Miss Connolly unsupervised and failing to contact the emergency services in circumstances where ‘a risk of death as a result of her condition would have been obvious’.
‘There is no justice in this’