Merseyside Police has today, Thursday 14 October, welcomed the conviction of a man for the murder of his partner in Wirral.
At around 10.40am on Monday 1 February this year emergency services were called to an address in Twickenham Drive, Leasowe, where they found the body of 54-year-old Helen Joy.
She was sadly pronounced dead at the scene. A post mortem revealed she died of multiple injuries with terminal hypothermia.
Her partner Kevin Ashton, 45, also of Twickenham Drive, was charged with her murder.
Today he was found guilty of murder. He will be sentenced on Thursday 12 November.
Head of the Homicide Support Unit Dave Brunskill said, “This was a particularly traumatic case and my thoughts go out to the family of Helen Joy who have suffered not only the loss of a loved one but also had to endure a trial as Ashton pleaded not guilty to his involvement in her death.
“Helen suffered horrific injuries consistent with sustained assaults. After discovering her body on the morning of Sunday 31 January Ashton casually went about his daily business and emergency services were not actually contacted until the following morning.
“I hope that now Ashton is convicted Helen’s family and friends will be able to feel a sense of closure and hopefully move on with their lives and properly grieve their loss.
“Domestic abuse is a despicable crime. It is never acceptable, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, and it remains a priority for Merseyside Police to robustly investigate and prosecute offenders while continuing to support survivors.
“We continue to work with our partners to offer protection and support to women and girls who are faced with violence including increasing the number of officers in our specialist domestic abuse teams, utilising domestic violence prevention notices and also using the Domestic Violence Disclosure Schemes (DVDS), also known as Clare’s Law. This gives someone in a relationship ‘the right to ask’ for information from various agencies, including the police, about a partner’s previous convictions, cautions, reprimands or final warnings for any offence of violence.
“We are also focusing on evidence-led prosecutions which can be used in situations where the victim may decide that they don’t want to press charges.
“My message would be if you find yourself in a violent or controlling relationship, don’t be afraid to tell someone. Find the courage to come forward and get the help you deserve. There is a lot of help out there both from specialist officers within Merseyside Police and our partner organisations.
“I would also encourage neighbours and friends of those that are suffering from domestic abuse to speak up. Trust your instincts – if something you’ve seen or heard doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. By knowing the signs of domestic abuse, you could help a friend, colleague or family member. Domestic abuse isn’t just physical – it can be emotional, physical, sexual, financial or controlling behaviour.”
In a statement issued in February by Helen’s three children – two grown-up daughters and a son – said, “The news of our mum’s death came as a massive shock to us all and we are all heartbroken.
“We didn’t always see eye to eye but she was our mum and we are all devastated by what has happened.
“We are happy that mum is no longer in pain and is now safe with the angels and now we just want justice for her.”
Anyone with information on domestic abuse can contact @MerPolCC, 101 or @CrimestoppersUK, anonymously on 0800 555 111
If someone is in immediate danger they should dial 999 and speak to an operator but we also accept that openly speaking is not always an option.
The Silent Solution is a service which means a vulnerable person can call 999 and alert us, by pressing ’55.’ This will indicate that help is needed and we will respond.
Leasowe man arrested on suspicion of murder
The original news report of the arrest of Kevin Ashton.
Family issue statement following murder of Leasowe woman
Merseyside Police and the family issued a statement in February following the arrest of a Leasowe man on the suspicion of murder.
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