June 23, 2019, Lucy-Anne Rushton was beaten to death in her family home in Andover, Hampshire. Her murderer was her ex-husband, whom she had split with earlier this year. The jealous man attacked the mother-of-five in front of their children and beat her until she died. Shaun Dyson pleaded guilty for the murder of his wife at Winchester Crown Court on December 20. For his crime, Dyson received a life sentence with a minimum of 17 years in prison.

The couple had known each other since their school days and in 2010 they eloped. Since their marriage in 2010, the young couple had a history of domestic violence. During the hearing, CCTV footage from a hotel showed Dyson spitting on Rushton, kicking her, and slamming her face to the wall repeatedly.

Apart from the footage, witnesses recalled the abuse they had all seen Dyson routinely subject Rushton to. Rushton's mother, Myra Simpson, told the court that she witnessed Dyson physically attack her daughter multiple times. A friend also testified that Dyson had strangled Rushton to the point where she became unconscious.

Domestic violence
Man receives life sentence for kicking and stomping on wife to death. IStock

Even though Dyson had been having secret affairs, he was jealous that his estranged wife was having a relationship with another man. After the couple's split in January, Dyson remained in touch with Rushton and the couple had even discussed having another child as The Mirror pointed out. However, Rushton was worried that Dyson might be planning something dreadful. Rushton had apparently discussed with friends and family that Dyson had packed a bag with some clothes and weapons.

On June 23, Rushton's fears became a reality. When Dyson was present in the family's home, Rushton received a call from a man she had been seeing. This made Dyson jealous and angry. He first attacked Rushton and tried to make her swallow her wedding ring. Then, he continued to kick and stomp on her until she was unresponsive.

Dyson tried to wake Rushton up by pouring water on her. He then panicked and called emergency services. Rushton was declared dead by the emergency responders and Dyson was arrested. A post mortem report revealed the prolonged attack caused blunt force trauma which ended Rushton's life. She had broken ribs, a fractured breastbone, around 70 bruises, collapsed lungs, and internal bleeding.

For his extremely violent attack and for his previous mental and physical abuse of Rushton, Dyson received his sentence. Dyson has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum prison term of 17 years.