A man has been found guilty of murdering his son’s girlfriend, and faces life in prison for the brutal attack – minutes after which he visited a bakery to buy a custard slice. Richard Jones, 50, admitted to killing Sophie Evans, 30, at her home in Llanelli, Wales last July. Jones said he believed Sophie and her boyfriend, his son Jamie Davies, were scamming him.
Following a trial at Swansea Crown Court, he was found guilty of the mum-of-two’s murder on Thursday, January 30. The court heard she had been found face-down at her house with multiple injuries all over her body, wearing only a bath towel the Mirror reports.
Forensic pathologist Dr Edward John Williams told the court the injuries were “entirely in keeping with forceful and sustained pressure to the neck during assault”. In his opening remarks, prosecutor Michael Jones KC said: “What we know is in that house the defendant physically and repeatedly attacked Ms Evans before strangling her to death.”
A notepad found in Richard Jones’ vehicle after the attack read: “I got scammed and rinsed by my own son so I dealt with it myself. Had no other choice.”
The jury were informed of his “callous indifference” after he was found to have visited a nearby bakery to get food just minutes after the murder. David Elias KC, defending, told the court Jones was significantly distressed at the time, and was suffering from a psychiatric delusion with symptoms of anger and violence.
The court also heard from consultant psychiatrist Dilum Jayawickrama, who explained he had a history of mental health problems, and that past drug use had caused him to “hear voices”. He had also reported suicidal thoughts to a GP, and told a doctor he believed he was the victim of identity theft at the hands of his son and Sophie.
In his final speech, Michael Jones KC said: “On the morning of July 5 this defendant visited Sophie Evans at her address in Llanelli. They were known to each other and she returned home that morning having taken her children to school.
“Whatever happened at that house that morning we know cannot be told to us by Sophie Evans, but what we know is in that house that morning this defendant, in his own words, lost his temper before strangling Sophie which caused her death.”
Commenting on the defendant’s claims of emotional distress, he added: “With those car keys deliberately on her back he drove away from the scene. What was not in dispute is the defendant did not stay to help her and did not call the emergency services either.
“We know from various footage the defendant runs out of the property at 10am to his vehicle but for whatever reason re-enters the property. He then calmly walks out of the property and when he leaves he complains to himself about the door. ‘F***** useless f******* door,’ he said when he left, knowing he had left Sophie Evans in that state.
“We say after and during the time murdered Sophie he did not demonstrate significant emotional distress. We say he was demonstrating callous indifference for what he had done to her.”
Richard Jones had previously denied murder, pleading guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. After the guilty verdict, he now faces life in prison, and will be sentenced on March 3, 2025.
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