Natalie Connolly: Attorney General will not review 44-month sentence handed to killer John Broadhurst
The sentence handed down to 'rough sex' killer John Broadhurst will not be reviewed, the Attorney General has said.
MP Harriet Harman had written to Geoffrey Cox to ask him to review the 'unduly lenient' 44-month sentence handed down to Broadhurst for the manslaughter of his girlfriend Natalie Connolly in Kinver. Ms Harman said she was 'horrified' by the sentence.
But the Attorney General has now said he will not review the sentence, despite originally sharing Ms Harman's concerns that there 'could have been an error'.
He concluded that the sentence handed to Broadhurst was not outside the appropriate range and said he 'could not properly' argue that a mistake had been made.
Read the Attorney General's letter in full:
Ms Harman tweeted to say she was 'bitterly disappointed' that there would be no review.
A spokesperson for the Attorney General's Office said: "The Attorney General was unable to intervene in this case because the sentence given fell within the range available to the judge.
"This meant that the Court of Appeal would not increase the sentence if the Attorney referred it to them."
Broadhurst, aged 40, was jailed after admitting the manslaughter of Ms Connolly, who he left bleeding to death at the bottom of their stairs at the Kinver home after a 'rough sex session' in December 2016.
The mother-of-one was discovered the following morning with more than 40 injuries, including serious internal trauma, and was more than five times the drink-drive limit.
A post mortem showed the 26-year-old died from acute alcohol intoxication and blunt force injuries.
Broadhurst had previously been on trial for murder, before the charge was reduced.