Killer who left girlfriend's body in a bath for seven weeks jailed
‘Sadistic’ killer, 36, who strangled his girlfriend and left her body in a bath for seven weeks while he used her Facebook page to seek ‘sexual liaisons’ with her friends is jailed for life with 24-year minimum term
- Police believe Kirstie Ellis was killed on February 1 in Stanningley, West Yorkshire
- But 35-year-old’s decomposing body was found seven weeks later in a bath tub
- Tony Brooks, 36, used an HDMI cable and dressing gown cord to strangle her
- He was given a life sentence today with a minimum of 24 years and nine months
A ‘sadistic’ killer who left his girlfriend’s body in a bath for seven weeks while using her Facebook account to seek ‘sexual liaisons’ with her friends has been jailed for life.
Tony Brooks, 36, used an HDMI cable and dressing gown cord to strangle Kirstie Ellis, 35, leaving her blood-spattered two-storey terraced property in Stanningley, West Yorkshire, looking like a ‘true house of horrors’.
Police believe that Ms Ellis was murdered on February 1, but her body was not discovered for another 52 days on March 25 after Brooks was arrested on suspicion of a burglary in his home city of Wakefield, West Yorkshire. She was found naked and hidden under a blanket.
Leeds Crown Court heard how Brooks returned to the home after the killing to steal her possessions while her remains decomposed in the home.
But he also accessed her Facebook page and assumed her identity, while telling her friends she was safe and asking them if they would date him.
The pair had been dating for several months. However, rather than cherish her, Brooks killed her and went to elaborate lengths to cover up his heinous crimes.
Tony Brooks, 36, used an HDMI cable and dressing gown cord to strangle Kirstie Ellis, 35, at her two-storey terraced property in Stanningley, West Yorkshire
Ms Ellis was strangled with an HDMI cable and dressing down cord at her two-story terraced property in Stanningley, Leeds. Her body was not discovered for 52 days
After being arrested for burglary, the killer later told police her body was in the property in Leeds but blamed two other people for her murder before finally pleading guilty before trial.
When police descended on the property, they found her stripped naked in her bath, with just a blanket over her body, and a lint roller and socks forced down her throat.
Speaking today at his sentencing, Ms Ellis’s sister Hannah Kitson said the killer had taken away her ‘human rights and dignity’ with his depraved actions.
She said: ‘Her human rights and her dignity were stripped from her, all why her supposed boyfriend went about his life, carried on like nothing had happened, profited from our devastating loss.
‘I will never forget the sinking feeling in my stomach hearing the way you violated her and left her in such a horrific state, violated her body as she lay there dying, just to make yourself feel better, just to confirm that she was actually dead.
When police descended on the property, they found Ms Ellis (pictured) stripped naked in her bath, with just a blanket over her body, and a lint roller and socks forced down her throat
‘The fact that you willingly went in and out of the scene of the crime, back to where her decomposing body laid, taking whatever you could find to sell for your own gain is disgusting.
‘You tuned her house into a true house of horrors.’
She added: ‘Kirsty was such a loving and caring person. She had a heart of gold that she shared with everyone she possibly could. Every night I have nightmares of what you did and how you hurt her.’
Prosecutor Christopher Moran KC, said that Brooks had known Ms Ellis for roughly two months before he murdered her.
He was driven to the property by Ms Bethany Wood, who he was dating as well, and attacked her in the living room before strangling her as she washed away her injuries in her bath.
‘The table could have been used as a weapon. The pathologist later found the use of a such weapon was consistent with two lacerations found on Ms Ellis’s head,’ he said.
Speaking today at his sentencing, Ms Ellis’s sister Hannah Kitson said the killer had taken away her ‘human rights and dignity’ with his depraved actions
‘There was blood staining on the kitchen floor which was consistent with Ms Ellis having fallen on it and laid on it – and moved around the kitchen floor while bleeding.
‘The deceased was laid up face up in the bath with her head laid towards the right-hand side of it.
‘There was bloodied tied mark in the bath, demonstrating that at one point, the bath had water in it, which had been diluted by her blood.
‘Her head was covered in blood and it was clear she had been there for quite some time as her face had become grey and decomposition had begun.
He added: ‘Officers could see two ligatures intertwined around her neck, and the handle of a lint roller, which could be seen protruding from her neck.
Neighbours say police were looking for Kirstie weeks before she was found at home in March (pictured)
Family have been through a ‘living nightmare’
In a statement, released after the court hearing, the victim’s parents, Vicky and John, said their family had been through a ‘living nightmare’ following her death.
‘The entire ordeal has been a living nightmare for the family, and we’d like to praise the police for their kindness and understanding,’ they said.
‘Our daughter Kirstie was a beacon of light to all those who were fortunate enough to have known her and who wanted to raise the awareness of domestic abuse after suffering through it herself.
‘The problem of abuse has never gone away but is there hidden in plain sight behind closed doors, and now we unfortunately have lost our precious daughter and baby girl Kirstie to it.
‘We remember Kirstie as a vibrant soul, Kirstie loved a drink, to dance and sing the night away.
‘Kirstie’s light will now forever shine bright in our family, among our friends and in all those who knew Kirstie’s happiness.
‘She will always be remembered for her sense of fun and joy, which has guided us through these troubling times.
Ms Wood, who drove Brooks to the address in early February, later told police he emerged with a flat screen TV, with blood spattered on his hands and trainer.
She told police that he said he had ‘beaten’ up a male who owed him money and took the TV because he was ‘skint’.
Over the following seven weeks Brooks returned to the property, where he stole Ms Ellis’s sound bar speaker system, a fridge-freezer and later her bank card, stealing £1,500.
The court also heard he showed the woman a photo of blood staining on the wall of the property, which the prosecution said he kept as a ‘keepsake’ or ‘memento’.
Brooks went on to access Kirstie’s Facebook account, which the prosecution said he used to urge her friends to participate in ‘sexual liaisons’ with him.
Mr Moran said: ‘He used this account to contact other random females, pretending to be Ms Ellis, requesting if any of them would like to meet her partner. These messages were sexual in nature.’
Defending, Mr Abdul Iqbal KC, said the defendant had wished to ‘apologise to the family and friends’ of Ms Ellis, adding that nothing he could say could ‘mitigate’ their loss.
But sentencing him to a minimum of 24 years and 9 months in prison, his honour judge Bayliss dismissed this suggestion and said he had denied her any decency ‘even in death.’
He said: ‘Your apologies for your actions and insist that you are remorseful.
‘You are nothing of the sort. I’m quite sure that your expressions of remorse are disingenuous
‘You left her body to decompose. You denied her any dignity or decency even in death.’
In a statement, released after the court hearing, the victim’s parents, Vicky and John, said their family had been through a ‘living nightmare’ following her death.
‘The entire ordeal has been a living nightmare for the family, and we’d like to praise the police for their kindness and understanding,’ they said.
Brooks was given a life sentence with a minimum of 24 years and nine months in prison. Pictured: Police discover the body in March
‘Our daughter Kirstie was a beacon of light to all those who were fortunate enough to have known her and who wanted to raise the awareness of domestic abuse after suffering through it herself.
‘The problem of abuse has never gone away but is there hidden in plain sight behind closed doors, and now we unfortunately have lost our precious daughter and baby girl Kirstie to it.
‘We remember Kirstie as a vibrant soul, Kirstie loved a drink, to dance and sing the night away.
‘Kirstie’s light will now forever shine bright in our family, among our friends and in all those who knew Kirstie’s happiness.
‘She will always be remembered for her sense of fun and joy, which has guided us through these troubling times.
Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Superintendent Helen Steele called Brooks a ‘callous’ and ‘nasty’ man who had shown ‘complete disregard’ for his victim.
She added: ‘Brooks is a callous and nasty individual whose brutal actions robbed Kirstie of her life and have left her family absolutely devastated.
‘He displayed a complete disregard for her in the weeks that followed her murder, as she lay undiscovered while he sold off items of her property taken from the address.
‘We conducted a thorough and comprehensive investigation into Kirstie’s death which built up a strong evidential picture of Brooks’ involvement and saw him admit his guilt without her family having to endure the added emotional strain that a trial inevitably brings.
‘While nothing can ever undo the pain that Brooks’ actions have caused them, we hope Kirstie’s family can take some small measure of comfort from knowing he has now been held responsible and sent to prison.’
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