Woman guilty of murdering rival in jealous rage

Joy Boulton was found dead at her home in Ash in May

A woman who killed her love rival in a “sustained and ferocious” attack fuelled by jealousy has been found guilty of murder.

Sara McKenzie used a heavy object to inflict fatal injuries on Joy Boulton, 59, at her home in Ash, Surrey, on 11 May.

McKenzie had been left heartbroken at her failed efforts to rekindle a relationship with a man who had struck up a romance with Ms Boulton, police said.

Jurors at Guildford Crown Court convicted McKenzie, 61, of murder and perverting the course of justice following a five-week trial. She will be sentenced on Monday.

Investigators said the killing happened after McKenzie tried to revive a relationship with Ms Boulton's fiance Trevor Dibnah, but he refused to get back with her.

Unable to cope with the rejection, McKenzie went to Ms Boulton's house in Church View with the sole intention of killing her, according to Surrey Police.

Officers said she struck her multiple times in an attack which left her with catastrophic head injuries.

Sara McKenzie struck Joy Boulton multiple times in a sustained and ferocious attack

Crucial evidence was left when Ms Boulton, of Fairview Road, Ash, scratched McKenzie’s face.

DNA was discovered under her fingernails which proved critical in securing McKenzie’s conviction.

Detectives said McKenzie went on to construct an “elaborate cover-up” involving claims of being a victim of a robbery in an effort to explain why the DNA was found under Ms Boulton’s fingernails.

Det Ch Insp Kimball Edey, from the Surrey and Sussex Police Major Crime Team, said following the case: “McKenzie went to Joy’s that morning with the sole intention of killing her so that she could get Trevor back.

"The rage and brutality McKenzie used when she attacked Joy cannot be overstated."

Paying tribute to Ms Boulton, her family said: “We are deeply devastated by this senseless act of violence which has changed our lives forever."

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