Swansea woman buried alive dies six years after attack

Keith Hughes attacked his then-fiancee Stacey Gwilliam and buried her under a bed of branches and ferns

A woman who was strangled and buried alive by her partner died six years later from pneumonia caused by the attack, an inquest has heard.

Stacey Gwilliam was attacked by her fiance Keith Hughes at Langland Bay, Swansea, in July 2015.

She subsequently developed pneumonia and had been "self medicating".

There was "no evidence" she meant to kill herself, coroner Colin Phillips said, and gave a conclusion of accidental death for the 40-year-old.

Hughes, 39, tried to "snap her neck" and hid Ms Gwilliam in a grave under a bed of branches before fleeing.

But she managed to get herself out of the grave and spent three months in hospital learning how to walk and talk again.

Police arrested Hughes after he crashed Ms Gwilliam's car, but he told officers: "You'll never find her".

Hughes, also from Swansea, was convicted of attempted murder at Swansea Crown Court in December 2015 and ordered to serve a minimum of eight-and-a-half years in prison.

Keith Hughes had previously been jailed for attacks on Stacey Gwilliam

PC Tom Evans of South Wales Police told the hearing that Ms Gwilliam "suffered with severe depression and anxiety and also suffered from pneumonia due to being buried alive".

Ms Gwilliam died at home in her bed in November 2021 while suffering with a chest infection.

The inquest heard she called her GP the day before her death, and was told to take antibiotics, but was found dead after "self medicating" in an attempt to treat her infection.

She had started to order medication online - and toxicology reports found a number of sedative drugs in her system which were mostly prescribed.

A post-mortem examination by Dr John Williams found the cause of death to be bronchopneumonia with combined drug toxicity.

The attack happened following a row on the coastal path at Langland Bay, Swansea

In a victim statement to the court during Hughes' trial for attempted murder, Ms Gwilliam said she believes Hughes took her to Langland Bay to kill her.

"The simple truth is what he told me that day: 'If I can't have you no-one can'," she said.

"He knew the relationship was over and knew I would not go back to him. He took me down there that day to kill me, and he nearly succeeded."

Sentencing Hughes, Judge Paul Thomas said: "You wanted to see the terror and pain in her face at the closest possible distance.

"Chillingly you tried to break her neck. You thought at that point you had succeeded in killing her."