Man admits murder of Karen Catherall at Gwernaffield

Ms Catherall was described as a loving mother, daughter, sister, aunty and friend

A 47-year-old man faces a life sentence for murdering a Flintshire woman he met on a dating website.

Mother-of-two Karen Catherall, 45, was found strangled and with head injuries at her home at Gwernaffield, near Mold, on 13 September.

At the town's crown court on Friday, Darren Jeffreys, from Mold, admitted murder.

Ms Catherall's family described her as a "loving mother, daughter, sister, aunty and friend".

Jeffreys called the emergency services and said he could not wake his girlfriend

The court was told the couple met via the Plenty of Fish dating website a few months previously and started a relationship.

Just hours after they had been seen drinking in Mold, Ms Catherall's body was found at her home by paramedics who were called to the scene by Jeffreys.

He told them his girlfriend had been sleeping and he could not wake her.

However, paramedics found she had been dead for some time.

A post-mortem examination found Ms Catherall died as a result of a blunt force trauma to the head and "mechanical asphyxiation".

Mr Justice Wyn Williams told Jeffreys, to expect a life sentence.

Ms Catherall's body was discovered at her home at Gwernaffield