Khaberni - A gruesome murder shook the British city of Plymouth, after a 62-year-old man was convicted of beating his partner to death and then hiding her body inside his apartment for ten days in a shocking scene discovered by chance and suspicion.
Plymouth Crown Court sentenced Mark Fitzgerald to 22 years in prison, after convicting him of killing his partner Lisa Paris (54 years old), a mother of four children, following a trial that lasted weeks and revealed horrifying details about the crime, according to "The Sun".
Severe beating and hiding the body
According to what the court heard, the victim was subjected to a brutal assault inside the accused’s apartment in Stonehouse area, where approximately 70 bruises were found on her head, neck, trunk, and limbs, along with signs of pressure around the neck, suggesting she suffered severe and repeated violence.
Despite this, Fitzgerald hid the body under blankets and a mattress inside the apartment and continued his life almost normally, later claiming that he found her unconscious only.
The incident began to unravel on March 18, 2024, when the defendant called for help from neighbors, claiming that he found his partner unbreathable, but his actions raised suspicions, especially after the paramedics noticed he seemed "indifferent" while sitting on the sofa counting money, as one of the neighbors tried to resuscitate the victim.
An autopsy confirmed that Lisa Paris had been deceased for at least 36 hours, and possibly since March 8, the last day she was seen on surveillance cameras taking out the trash.
Violent past and toxic relationship
Investigations revealed that the relationship between the two, which lasted eight years, was filled with violence; Fitzgerald had been convicted in 2020 of assaulting Lisa with a knife, and witnesses described her health as having deteriorated significantly in recent months, as she was caring for him due to his health problems and alcohol addiction.
A maintenance worker who entered the apartment on March 9 to repair a water leak reported that he saw what appeared to be a body hidden under a duvet cover, though the accused acted aggressively and claimed that someone was sleeping there.
Decisive verdict
Despite Fitzgerald’s continuous denial, the jury convicted him of murder, closing a bloody chapter of domestic violence.
The chief investigator Neil Blanchard stated that the accused is "a dangerous person who showed no remorse for his harsh actions," while at the same time praising the patience and dignity of the victim's family during the investigation and trial process.
He added: "We hope that this verdict will give them some peace after an unimaginable loss".
A crime that brought to the forefront painful questions about domestic violence and the silence surrounding toxic relationships, sometimes ending in tragedies that cannot be averted.
