Murder of Jeffrey Howe

Jeffrey Howe (born 1960), a British businessman from North London, was murdered in March 2009. His dismembered body parts were scattered across Hertfordshire and Leicestershire, leading to him being known in the press as Jigsaw Man.[1] Stephen Marshall, who killed Howe, became known as the Jigsaw Killer. He initially pleaded "not guilty" to murder, but changed his plea to "guilty" and was sentenced to life imprisonment in February 2010.[2]

Background

Jeffrey Howe, 49, was a kitchen salesman. He had worked around the country and had been a chef in Italy, and was a Manchester United football supporter. His brother described him as "a jovial, charming character who had a heart of gold and would get on with anyone."[3] He had twice been married.[4] Neighbours said that he was aggressive and argued about children playing, and said they had not seen him or his two Jaguar cars for about six months, believing that he rented out his ground floor two-bedroom flat.[5][6]

Stephen Marshall, 38, was a body builder, personal trainer and former bouncer[2] of Ayot Path, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, and formerly of Park Street, St Albans,[7] where he once owned a gym.[8] He was a work associate and lodger of Howe's at his flat in Southgate, London.[9] Marshall had lived at the Southgate flat since November 2008[10] after Howe, said to be his 'drinking buddy', wanted to help him out.[11] He stayed without paying rent along with his girlfriend Sarah Bush, 21, from Southgate, who was a prostitute.[12][13] They stole Howe's food and refused to leave after promising to do so,[14] which he complained about to a friend at Christmas time.[10] They fraudulently claimed housing benefit by forging his signature, saying he was leasing the property to them.[12]

Sarah Bush met Marshall when he hired her as a prostitute. He made her change her name from Sara.[9] She spent most of her childhood in care, and has two children.[15] Her first baby, which she had when she had just turned 15, died aged 10 days.[16]

Murder

Howe was murdered on the night of 8–9 March 2009.[12] He was stabbed twice in the back with a 4-inch blade, one of the wounds puncturing his lung.[2][9] Howe may have been alive for up to an hour after he was stabbed.[9] Marshall "skillfully and cleanly" removed Howe's limbs,[13] which Home Office pathologist Simon Poole estimated would have taken at least 12 hours.[9]

After the murder, Marshall and Bush used Howe's bank account, buying a laptop, shoes, takeaways,[16] and other consumer goods and food. They set up an account with online retailer Littlewoods, some of the purchases being made on a computer in St. Albans library.[7] They wrote forged cheques to clear his account.[7] They sold some of his belongings, including his mobile phone, furniture, and his Saab car, which was sold on eBay.[14] They said to Howe's friend Shehrya Khan that he had "packed up and left."[10][14] Howe's adopted brother John visited the flat on 28 March and was told by Bush that Howe had not collected rent for a while and had left with his belongings.[11]

Discovery of his body

Investigation

Detective Superintendent Michael Hanlon from the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit led the investigation,[14] named Operation Abnet and involving up to 100 officers.[3] To aid the investigation, police revealed that the victim was overweight, suffered from eczema, had bleached skin pigmentation on his legs, a fungal infection on his toenails,[17] and was missing two front teeth.[6] They released a picture of the suitcase in which the torso was found.[17] The police decided to keep details of the dismemberment from the public to avoid panic.[21]

A friend of Howe had visited the flat at the end of January 2009 and found the couple living there. After trying to phone him and hearing he had gone missing, she reported him as a missing person on 15 March.[10] Howe's mother, who usually received calls from him several times a week, rang the incident room some time before 21 April to report Howe missing.[9][17] Two police officers went to the flat at 11:30 on the morning of 16 March and forced entry when there was no answer, searching all the rooms. There was no visible sign of blood, and Howe's passport was on a coffee table.[11] When questioned by police, Marshall and Bush said that as far as they knew he was alive.[9] The police used dental records to identify Howe from his remains,[4] and discovered that Marshall had lived close to where the torso was found.[21] Police arrested the couple at the flat in Southgate, north London on 21 April. The arresting officer said that "[Marshall] was very, very nervous, jittery, his leg was shaking. Sarah Bush was uncomfortable, and at that point I knew that Jeffrey Howe was going to be our victim."[21] Taken to a station in Hertfordshire for questioning,[17] Bush told police that Marshall suffered "mood swings" and that she had been planning to leave him.[9] Marshall gave "no comment" to police questioning.[21] Howe was publicly named as the victim on 23 April.[17]

Blood was found in the bedroom and bathroom of the flat and under the carpet,[22] and blood was found in Howe's car after it was recovered.[12] Green fibres from a T-shirt in Marshall's bedroom matched fibres on duct tape used to wrap Howe’s body parts.[9][21] The journey of Marshall and Bush to Leicestershire was traced from CCTV and Automatic number plate recognition.[7]

The IPCC is supervising a Metropolitan Police Service review of procedure of how Howe's missing person case was handled.[9]

Trial

The trial began on 12 January 2010[23] and was held at St Albans Crown Court, with Stuart Trimmer QC prosecuting. Marshall initially denied murdering Howe, claiming that Bush murdered him and that he only helped to dismember and dispose of the body, admitting counts of perverting the course of justice and intending to prevent a coroner from holding an inquest.[13] Bush denied all charges.[23]

The court heard that Marshall previously threatened to "get rid of" Bush's previous partner in Epping Forest, and to "dispose of" another woman. He had boasted to her of having "considerable experience of disposing of bodies".[12] She said the first time he did so he was nauseated and took cocaine to cope, becoming an addict.[20] A witness said that when working for the Adams crime family, Marshall had used a meat cleaver, meat knives, a hacksaw, or a chainsaw to cut up bodies.[14]

A friend of Bush, Sophie Franklin,[2] told the court that when drunk, Bush confessed to friends that she helped Marshall kill Howe after Marshall stabbed him in the back, placing a pillow over Howe's face to stop the noise.[12] Another friend of Bush, Danielle Matthews, said Bush told her she had seen the murder, and that Howe had laughed when Marshall had earlier threatened to kill him unless he left the flat.[9]

On January 29, three weeks into the trial, Marshall changed his plea to guilty of murder.[20] He was sentenced in life imprisonment on 1 February, for a minimum of 36 years.[14] The judge Jeremy Cooke said that little credit could be given for the change of plea as the case was so overwhelming.[18] He dismissed Marshall's claim that he was on the verge of drug-induced suicide when he stabbed his victim in bed.[18]

Bush also changed her plea to guilty on 1 February,[14] and was sentenced to three years and nine months for perverting the course of justice by helping Marshall take Howe's head to Leicestershire[18] and was given a concurrent sentence of two years and three months for giving false information about Howe's whereabouts,[24] though she was acquitted of murder.[19] She will probably serve 18 months.[25]

After the trial it was revealed that Marshall had previous convictions for criminal damage, assault, battery, cocaine possession, and possessing a firearm.[9] He had attacked his first wife in 2003, and was arrested on suspicion of murdering Minesh Nagrecha in 1996 when his burnt body was found. He was never charged, instead appearing as a witness.[16] Bush had two prior cautions for possession of cannabis and assault.[9]

Marshall was refused leave to appeal in October 2010.[25] A challenge to the length of his sentence was turned down by two Court of Appeal judges in November 2010.[26]

Previous bodies

Via his lawyer, Peter Doyle, Marshall admitted in court on 1 February to dismembering four more bodies between 1995 and 1998 and disposing of them in Epping Forest,[13] when he worked for the Adams crime family as a doorman for a London nightclub.[2][16] This admission was to the surprise of police,[16] but Marshall refused to give them details of the other victims.[27]

References

  1. ↑ Tran, Mark (24 April 2009). "Body parts victim identified as kitchen salesman". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 2 February 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Levy, Andrew; Tamara Cohen (2 February 2010). "Jigsaw killer's admission that he disposed of four other bodies could bring crime family to justice". The Daily Mail (London). Retrieved 2 February 2010.
  3. 1 2 "Who was Southgate Jigsaw man? – Flatmates still quizzed". London Daily News. 24 April 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  4. 1 2 Evans, Martin (13 January 2010). "Jigsaw murder: 'Couple murdered salesman for his money'". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  5. ↑ "Police quiz two over jigsaw murder". Press Association (London). 24 April 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  6. 1 2 Irvine, Chris; Murray Wardrop (24 April 2009). "Identity of 'jigsaw' body parts murder victim solved". The Daily Telegraph (London). Archived from the original on April 27, 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Lewis, Alex (13 January 2010). "Prosecution: 'They killed him to steal'". Enfield Independent. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  8. ↑ "Jigsaw body parts trial: life for St Albans murderer Marshall". The Herts Advertiser. 1 February 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Shah, Druti (1 February 2010). "'Jigsaw man' butchered by lodger who wanted his life". BBC News. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Jury Hears From Victim's Friends In Body Parts Murder Trial". EDP24. 15 January 2010. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  11. 1 2 3 "Cut-up salesman was murder accused's 'drinking buddy'". BBC News. 15 January 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Pidd, Helen (13 January 2010). "Couple killed 'jigsaw man' to steal his identity, court hears". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 2 February 2010.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Fresco, Adam (2 February 2010). "Jigsaw killer Stephen Marshall to be questioned in jail over four bodies". The Times (London). Retrieved 2 February 2010.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "'Jigsaw Man' murderer Stephen Marshall jailed for 36 years". The Times (London). 1 February 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
  15. ↑ Barham, Alexandra (1 February 2010). "First pictures of jigsaw murderer's lover". Borehamwood Times. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 Pidd, Helen (1 February 2010). "'Jigsaw man' murderer says he cut up other bodies in gangster killings". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Timeline of police investigation to identify dismembered man Jeffrey Howe". The Daily Telegraph (London). 24 April 2009. Archived from the original on April 27, 2009. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
  18. 1 2 3 4 Lewis, Alex (1 February 2010). "Dramatic end to St Albans body parts trial". St. Albans and Harpenden Review. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  19. 1 2 3 MacLellan, Kylie (1 February 2010). ""Jigsaw man" killer jailed for life". Reuters. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  20. 1 2 3 Fresco, Adam (30 January 2010). "Stephen Marshall admits murder of 'jigsaw man', Jeffrey Howe". The Times (London). Retrieved 2 February 2010.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 Christian, Paul (1 March 2010). "Cops recall snaring ‘jigsaw’ killer". East Herts Herald. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  22. ↑ Fresco, Adam (14 January 2010). "Couple accused of 'jigsaw murder' preyed on victim for money, court hears". The Times (London). Retrieved 2 February 2010.
  23. 1 2 "Man admits dismembering salesman". BBC News. 12 January 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  24. ↑ "Jigsaw killer 'cut up four other bodies'". The Independent (London). 2 February 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
  25. 1 2 Brannen, Aimee (12 November 2010). "Body parts murderer denied appeal hearing". The Herts Advertiser. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  26. ↑ Pears, Elizabeth (4 November 2010). "'Horrific' body parts murderer, Stephen Marshall, of Borehamwood, denied sentence appeal". Borehamwood & Elstree Times. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  27. ↑ "'Jigsaw' killer refuses to name other victims". BBC News. 11 March 2010. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
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