West Bromwich murderer Michael Foran jailed for life after late change of plea
Runaway killer Michael 'Mickey' Foran has been jailed for at least 17 years after admitting murdering his 33-year-old partner June 'Katie' Jones.
The defendant changed his plea to guilty shortly before he was due to go into the witness box to give evidence at the start of the defence case today.
He had confessed to manslaughter at the start of the trial.
Foran strangled the woman he professed to love into unconsciousness and then repeatedly stabbed her with a knife from the kitchen at the first-floor flat where they lived in Wyndmill Crescent, West Bromwich, last year.
She had 21 knife wounds in clusters around her neck and the left side of her chest and is believed to have lain dead in the bath for three weeks before she was found by police.
'Left to die without compassion or dignity'
Judge James Burbidge QC sentenced Foran to life in prison with a minimum term of 17 years and told him: "It was a brutal attack.
"You left her to die in the bath without compassion or dignity, shut the front door behind you and got on with your life. You did nothing to put the family out of their anxiety and worry.
"Only you and she knew how this came about. She cannot tell us and you have not given evidence. For a significant time you controlled, coerced and exercised domestic abuse which adversely affected her.
"I accept you are a damaged individual. You loved her in your own way and she had a real affection for you but you both came under the disruptive influence of hard drugs and neither of you could rid yourself of that addiction."
Foran's guilty plea in 2014 to putting Miss Jones in fear of violence through harassment should have been a wake up call to the destructive life he was living, said the judge who concluded: "You ruined her life and then ended it."
Foran was captured on CCTV locking the front door of their flat late on December 10. He never returned and Miss Jones was not seen alive again which makes it the most likely date of the murder.
Her body is believed to have been in the flat for 21 days when it was found by Pc Stephen Hunt, who spotted human feet sticking out of the bath while conducting a room-by-room search after breaking in at around 2am on New Year's Eve.
She was not reported as missing until Boxing Day by her family, who were used to losing touch with Miss Jones for periods of time because of her chaotic lifestyle.
She was found dressed in a dressing gown and lying under a mat in the bloodstained bath with a kitchen knife lying close to her head.
Mr Anthony Berry QC defending, said: "Despite this conviction for the most heinous of offences to all intents and purposes his own life was destroyed by unspeakable offending. It constituted every possible type of abuse.
His anger grew until he broke the jaw of the abuser, the judge added, before saying: “Then he got involved with drugs but, despite all his controlling behaviour, he did love June Jones and he is now a wretchedly miserable individual with little or no hope in life.
“His wickedness is greatly reduced by the awful treatment he suffered in his youth."
'Justice has been done' say family
The family of Miss Jones said in a statement after the case: "Justice has been done for our beloved Katie.
"Finally, Michael Foran faced up to the gravity of the overwhelming evidence against him, forcing him to plead guilty to Katie’s murder.
Full coverage of the trial:
"We as a family know that the guilty plea will never bring Katie back to us or justify the long term suffering he inflicted upon her and subsequently us.
"We will always miss Katie and will know she will be forever in our hearts.
"We know as a family hope to move on now justice has been done and Katie can finally rest in peace."
WATCH: How killer tried to flee justice captured on CCTV
Hours after the discovery Foran asked to be taken to Liverpool by his friend Keith O'Dwyer who he knew was going to bring in the New Year at a hotel in Manchester with his partner Elaine Sadler.
He was dropped off at the £15-a-night King Harry's Bar and Hostel in the Anfield area of Liverpool where he stayed for two days.
When he was arrested on February 5 he was sitting on the pavement with a dog begging outside a Poundland in the city centre
O'Dwyer, 34, lived at Camberley House in Beaconview Road, West Bromwich, where he was in view of the flat where Foran and Jones lived.
He had denied assisting an offender but also changed his plea to guilty this morning on the basis that he had seen police activity there earlier in the day but did not have all the details when he agreed to give him a lift.
O'Dwyer was jailed for 16 months.
Police: 'Despicable' killer has owned up to guilt
Speaking after the hearing, Detective Inspector Nick Barnes, from West Midlands Police’s homicide team, said: “Katie was murdered in the most horrific circumstances.
"The level of violence used by Foran was despicable.
“Knowing what he’d done, he left Katie in her flat and carried on with his life.
"When he realised police had discovered Katie’s body, he fled in an effort to evade capture.
"He clearly didn’t want to take responsibility for his actions and thought he could get away from police.
"I hope his acknowledgement of guilt offers some comfort to Katie’s family, who have been extremely brave throughout this traumatic time.
“My thoughts remain with them as they come to terms with their loss."
