Megan Newborough: Murdered woman's family stunned by sentence decision

Ross McCullam dumped Megan Newborough's body in undergrowth in a remote rural spot

The family of a young woman murdered by her boyfriend has said he should serve longer in prison before being considered for parole.

Ross McCullam was jailed for life in December for killing 23-year-old Megan Newborough and told he would serve at least 23 years before being considered for release.

The Court of Appeal rejected a bid by the solicitor general to increase his sentence on Tuesday.

Her family said they were stunned.

McCullam, 30, and Ms Newborough were colleagues who had been in a short relationship before he invited her to his home in Windsor Close, Coalville, Leicestershire, on 6 August 2021.

He strangled her and slashed her throat with a knife before driving to a remote rural location and hiding her body in undergrowth.

He then lied to police to try to cover up what he had done.

McCullam strangled Ms Newborough in the living room of his home

McCullam admitted the manslaughter of Ms Newborough, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, but denied murdering her.

He claimed he lost control of himself when he attacked her during an episode of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), triggered by abuse he suffered as a child.

The jury convicted him of murder after a six-week trial.

A judge jailed him for life beginning his sentence consideration at 15 years before parole and adding eight for aggravating factors such as McCullam's cover-up.

At Tuesday's Court of Appeal hearing, lawyers for Solicitor General Michael Tomlinson argued McCullam should serve a minimum of 30 years before parole because the murder involved sexual conduct.

They said McCullam had expressed violent sexual fantasies in messages to Ms Newborough "which she did not share" in the weeks before he killed her.

They also said McCullam searched for violent killers on the internet and watched pornography in the hours after the murder.

However the appeal judges said they were "not persuaded that there is any basis in which it can be said that the judge fell into error" and upheld the original sentence.

Ms Newborough's father Anthony told the BBC: "We had found a sense of justice when a cold, calculated killer was brought to justice for taking our daughter from us and convicted for murder in December last year.

"We went [to the Court of Appeal] optimistic that we had a hearing and some confidence that, having got that far, the sentence would be increased.

"We were left very upset, stunned and shell-shocked that the sentence remained the same.

"The sentence guidelines need to be changed as 15 years as a starting point for murder in comparison to other crimes is far too low for taking someone's life."

Ms Newborough's family said she was sensible and safety-conscious

Mr Newborough added: "We want to keep Megan's name in the public domain to ensure that other girls and young women do not suffer a similar fate and to ensure that those causing untold harm will face the punishment they deserve.

"There is not a day that goes by when we are not thinking about Megan in one way or another.

"We would like to thank our family and friends for all their continued support."

He said the family was considering options for campaigning to change the sentencing guidelines.