Life for man who murdered woman in 'brutal' attack

Steven Francis subjected his victim to an "appalling level of violence", police said

A man who killed a woman by inflicting more than 117 injuries on her in what police described as a "brutal attack" has been jailed for life.

Louisa Hall, 43, was found naked and unconscious on the living room floor of Steven Francis's flat in Little London, Leeds, in October 2023, and was pronounced dead a short time later.

On Wednesday, a jury at Leeds Crown Court found Francis, 59, guilty of Miss Hall's murder, as well as the rape of another woman in 2016.

At the same court on Thursday, he was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 28 years.

'Forceful strangulation'

When she was found on 25 October 2023, Miss Hall, who was a sex worker, had blood around her nose and mouth as well as extensive bruising across her shoulder, chest and legs, police said.

An injury to her neck was compatible with "forceful strangulation" by hands or a ligature, they added.

The pathologist remarked that Miss Hall's head injuries were so serious that those alone could have proved fatal, the trial jury was told.

Francis's DNA was recovered from Miss Hall's neck, with tests on his blood and urine showing high concentrations of crack cocaine.

Louisa Hall suffered injuries to her head, chest, abdomen, legs and arms, a trial juryheard

As part of the murder investigation, detectives revisited a rape allegation made against Francis by a sex worker in 2016, which could not be progressed at the time "due to evidential difficulties", police said.

The victim, who was 22 at the time of the incident, had reported being taken back to Francis's flat at Oatland Court, where she was assaulted, robbed, rendered unconscious and repeatedly raped.

She was contacted by the investigation team following the murder of Miss Hall and she agreed to a reinvestigation of her attack.

That resulted in Francis being charged with two counts of rape, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, robbery and false imprisonment.

The jury at Leeds Crown Court found Francis guilty of all charges.

'Pain and heartache'

After Francis's sentencing, Det Ch Insp James Entwistle said Miss Hall had been subjected to a "brutal and sustained attack".

Francis was "a very dangerous individual who has deliberately preyed on vulnerable women", he added.

Meanwhile, Miss Hall's parents and her children said in a statement: "We hope nobody has to go through the pain and heartache Steven Francis has put us through."

The victim of the rape in 2016 said the jury's guilty verdict had allowed her to sleep for the first time without nightmares.

"Thank you for giving me peace and believing in me," she said.

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