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A former boyfriend with an obsessive behavior caused the death of a mother with four children and her new companion, only four days after she had reported him to the authorities.
Marcus Osborne, who is 35 years old and resides in Harpe Inge, Dalton, West Yorkshire, has been given a full life sentence by the Leeds Crown Court for killing his ex-partner Katie Higton and her new boyfriend Steven Harnett.
27-year-old Ms Higton reported to West Yorkshire Police that she was afraid Osborne would inflict serious harm or kill her, as he had continuously threatened to murder her if she started dating someone else.
Several days after the initial incident, the man viciously attacked her and Mr. Harnett in her residence in Huddersfield on May 15th, 2023. Sadly, both victims were declared deceased upon arrival.
Osborne said: “Romeo and Juliet can f***ing die together now” after the brutal double killing which left Ms Higton with 99 injuries and Mr Harnett with 24 wounds including mutilated genitals.
A relative in the audience yelled out, “I hope you suffer in hell,” as Osborne was escorted out.
The judge, Mrs. Justice Lambert, stated that the murders were motivated by sexual desires and fueled by Osborne’s extreme jealousy.
She stated that she does not believe that the murders can be justified by your deep-seated fear of being abandoned due to a neglected upbringing.
All of your actions were driven by sexual desires and the desire to humiliate and degrade others sexually.
The judge also stated that the murder of Ms. Higton was a brutal and prolonged assault on a vulnerable woman without any means of defense.
According to her account, Osborne began the attack before Ms. Higton entered the house and was heard stating, “I told you I was going to kill you… this is your fault for happening.”
The judge stated that the woman who had been held captive in the house recounted Osborne washing himself between each murder, while laughing and taunting. He even went as far as inviting a neighbor into the living room to view the bodies, seemingly proud of his actions.
During the trial, it was revealed that Osborne had planned to harm Ms Higton and carried out a vicious assault on her as soon as she entered their former home in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.
Osborne impersonated Ms. Higton by using her phone to deceive Mr. Harnett and convince him to come to the residence.
The perpetrator proceeded to sexually assault a different woman, whom he had kept confined in the house throughout the night, using a knife as a weapon. The court was informed that there were four children present in the house during the killings.
Prosecutor Jonathan Sandiford KC said: “The defendant committed a premeditated and brutal double murder motivated by sexual jealousy, a desire to exercise control over Katie Higton, an unwillingness to accept her decision to leave him and her freedom to form a relationship with another man.”
Ms. Higton ended her five-year relationship with Osborne in early May last year following an assault on April 28 that was the final incident.
During the court hearing, it was revealed that the individual reported to the authorities that the partnership had turned into one of coercion, control, and physical violence in the previous two years. They also mentioned being frequently attacked, including one instance where the abuser threw a cat at them.
According to Mr. Sandiford, Osborne has prior convictions for violent crimes against two past significant others in the years 2011 and 2012.
Prior to the killings, Ms Higton informed the West Yorkshire Police that Osborne had threatened to slit her throat if she revealed what he had done. She also claimed that he said he would kill both her and any future boyfriend she may have.
On May 12th, Osborne was apprehended for allegedly committing acts of domestic violence and was released on bail with the restriction of not returning to their shared residence. However, Osborne was found to have surveilled the victim in the days that followed, before ultimately taking a taxi to the house on the night of the fatal incidents.
When the murder was reported, experts were having an emergency meeting to talk about strategies to safeguard Ms Higton and her four children.
The court discovered that he learned of Ms Higton and Mr Harnett’s growing connection by illegally accessing her Snapchat account.
In court, Ms. Nicola McAlister, the mother of Ms. Higton, shared a victim personal statement denouncing Osborne as “a monstrous individual”.
The judge gave concurrent sentences of 10 years for both the rape and false imprisonment of the second woman in the house.
She informed Osborne that there are no factors to lessen the severity of his case, aside from his pleading guilty. She also mentioned that there is no evidence pertaining to his mental state or any other factors that could help understand his actions.
The severity of this case is such that even a lengthy minimum sentence would not suffice as a fair punishment. Your actions on that night were truly horrific.
Osborne admitted to committing two acts of murder and other crimes.
After she passed away, loved ones and relatives of Ms Higton honored her as “the greatest mom” and expressed their deep sorrow as they left flowers on behalf of her two older children at the location.
The brother of her previous husband, who wishes to remain anonymous, stated that his brother had been dating Ms. Higton, a mother of four, for seven years and was the biological father of her two oldest daughters, who are nine and ten years old.
He characterized Ms Higton as lively, sociable, and enjoyable, along with being a great mother.
There is more information to come on this developing news…
Source: independent.co.uk
