James Newton-Price QC has prosecuted a man for beating his partner to death.

The defendant, Daniel O’Malley-Keyes of Christchurch, Dorset, battered his partner to death in her own home after she had embarrassed him by her drunken behaviour on a night out in Bournemouth. The victim was found to have 82 areas of bruising to her body and 15 rib fractures. The force of the attack was such that she stopped breathing and died.

The defendant claimed not to have intended to cause her serious harm and that some injuries were due to chest compressions after she passed out. The jury unanimously rejected his defence. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 18 years after a trial lasting thirteen days at Winchester Crown Court.

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