Horror film fanatic jailed for Julia Rawson's murder

Nathan Maynard-Ellis and David Leesley hid Julia Rawson's body parts

A man who murdered and dismembered a woman at his flat has been jailed for life and will serve a minimum of 30 years in prison.

Nathan Maynard-Ellis, 30, took Julia Rawson home after meeting her in a pub in Dudley, West Midlands, in May 2019.

Along with his boyfriend David Leesley, 25, they killed her and hid her body parts.

Leesley was also sentenced to life in prison and will serve a minimum of 19 years.

During the trial at Coventry Crown Court, prosecutor Karim Khalil QC said Ms Rawson, 42, "could not have known that she was about to enter a flat of horrors".

He said "many knives, saws, axes and other bladed articles" were found in the "tiny" property, including swords mounted on the walls.

'Thorough cover-up'

Maynard-Ellis was also jailed for a series of sexual offences against another woman.

• 'Beautifully human' Julia 'deserved so much more'

Passing sentence, Mr Justice Soole said he was sure that both men had attacked Ms Rawson about the head with weapons, and had then engaged in a "cool, calm and thorough" cover-up.

Addressing the pair, he said: "You undertook a comprehensive attempt to try and cover up what you had done... and you repeated lies to the police.

"Only you two knew what happened in the flat, but neither of you has told the truth."

Julia Rawson was last seen alive on 12 May 2019

During the trial, jurors were told Maynard-Ellis had a fascination with horror films and had been addicted to fantasies about the "sexualised killing of women".

Both men admitted perverting the course of justice and concealing a body, but had denied murder. They were convicted on 9 November.

Mr Justice Soole said personal statements from Ms Rawson's father, sister and partner, "tell of the terrible and lasting devastation" of her murder.

Addressing her family, the judge said: "No words of the court can touch your terrible loss you have suffered."

He also praised the police for their "superb work" in what was a "demanding" case.

Maynard-Ellis had played the "lead role" in the murder, the judge said, having decided to kill Ms Rawson before she even arrived at his flat in a taxi.

The judge told Leesley: "I am sure that you were in thrall to Maynard-Ellis and would do, and that night did, his bidding."

Maynard-Ellis was identified from CCTV footage showing him talking to Ms Rawson in a pub, before luring her to his home in Tipton.

Following the killing, Maynard-Ellis behaved normally, visiting a pub hours later where he was seen smiling and making a phone call.

After he was arrested, officers discovered a bloodstain underneath a new underlay in the living room of the couple's flat.

Giving evidence in the trial, Maynard-Ellis, who has been diagnosed with depression and Asperger's syndrome, denied trying to re-enact aspects from films "in real life".

A film fan, he told jurors he had "looked at films to make costumes and masks and things - but not to act them out".