AS BODY PARTS FOUND
South Wales Police’s forensic investigation team was called to the flat while May was taken to Merthyr Tydfil police station for questioning.
A duvet was wrapped around carrier bags containing blood-stained clothes and a black Adidas rucksack was found containing the upper torso of a woman. A black handbag contained the top of a thumb and four fingers which matched with the right arm found in the shower. Her head and lower torso were found in storm drains at Pontypridd RFC.
A post-mortem examination was carried out on the remains of Tracey’s body which gave the cause of her death as cardiac arrest caused by “pressure to the neck”.
Semen was also found on Tracey’s body with a DNA profile which matched that of May’s. Whether sexual intercourse had occurred prior to or after death was unknown.
Pathologist Derek James, who examined Ms Woodford’s body, said the dismemberment had been carried out by someone with experience of knives or of cutting up human bodies or animals.
May was formally charged with Tracey’s murder but he pleaded not guilty on the grounds he had acted in self-defence and had lost selfcontrol.
During his trial at Cardiff Crown Court in November that year, he said he first met Tracey in the smoking area of the Skinny Dog.
He said he initially had no feelings towards Tracey but he became more attracted to her over the night.
May said: “I asked her to come back to my place and she agreed.”
He added: “We started having a kiss and a cuddle and one thing led to another and we had sex.”
May described how he and Tracey later fell asleep but when he woke up, he claimed to see Tracey standing by the bed looking through his wallet.
He said: “I said ‘What are you doing, you thieving bitch?’
“She came at me flailing with her arms. I tried to defend myself by stopping her.
“I lost control. I don’t remember then. Next thing I know she was on the floor dead.”
May said he recalled seeing something on television about cutting up a body and hiding it.
He added: “I panicked and tried to get rid of the body. I thought if I cut it up then I could hide it.”
He said when the police turned up at his door he felt relieved. He added: “I am disgusted with myself. I can’t apologise for it, I can’t ask for any forgiveness, can I?”
May was found guilty of Tracey Woodford’s murder, triggering shouts of “yes” from the court’s public gallery. The defendant sat expressionless as the jury foreman delivered their verdict.
He was jailed for life and told he would serve a minimum of 28 years in jail. If he is ever released he will spend the rest of his life on licence.
Speaking after May’s conviction, Tracey’s family gathered outside Cardiff Crown Court looking broken and shattered while a statement was read out on their behalf.
They said: “We simply cannot understand how anyone could treat another human being in this way.”
Tracey’s mother, Linda, spoke about the horrendous moment she viewed her daughter’s body which had been assembled back together on a mortuary table.
She said: “I started to get distressed when they started to tell me what happened to Tracey’s body.
“I stood over her crying. I didn’t know what to do or say.
“I kissed her on the forehead and then I had to leave the room.”
She added: “This man has torn my family apart. It’s destroyed us. It has totally destroyed us all.”
A new documentary called Murdertown, about Christopher May’s horrific crime, airs on the Crime + Investigation UK channel at 9pm on Monday, October 1.