Cocaine-fuelled postman who bludgeoned escort to death with dumbbell before hiding corpse in home is jailed

6 October 2023, 21:15

By Jasmine Moody

A 43-year-old postman has been jailed for a minimum of 17 and a half years after beating an escort to death while high on cocaine in May.

Mark Nicholls struck Emily Sanderson, 50, with a dumbbell at least 13 times while she called a taxi to pick her up from his home in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, on May 19.

Sheffield Crown Court was played a recording of the call, in which Nicholls could be heard accusing Ms Sanderson of being a "robbing b****", before the mother-of-three's muffled screams were heard.

Following her screams, four "hard" thuds were heard.

Ms Sanderson was last seen by her family at her father's funeral that same day and was reported missing a few days later.

Prosecutor Sam Green KC said Ms Sanderson worked as an escort and the defendant was one of her clients.

He said the thuds were the sounds of the dumbbell being hit on the victim.

Nicholls was sentenced to a minimum of 17 and a half years after he admitted to the crime in an earlier hearing.

The court heard how after the murder, CCTV footage had caught him running from his home.

Footage then showed him at a Shell garage with a female companion and suitcases.

The pair then went to Sheffield Railway station, taking a train to Moulton, Lincolnshire, and ended up having a pint at a pub.

He returned on May 23, where the defendant's next door neighbour reported that he had seen Nicholls digging in the garden days before and Judge Richardson said he had no doubt the defendant had been planning to bury the body.

Nicholls told concerned neighbours he was digging a pond.

Two days later, CCTV caught him purchasing parcel tape.

On May 30, Nicholls told his parents he had "f***** up".

Officers found Ms Sanderson's body on June 5th after Nicholls told a mental health professional at the police station how he "killed a lady by bashing her head with a dumbbell".

Nicholls pleaded guilty to Ms Sanderson's murder on September 8.

The Crown Court heard how Ms Sanderson's body had been wrapped in layers of material and her hands and feet bound by parcel tape.

A post-mortem examination revealed that Ms Sanderson was hit with the dumbbell at least 13 times in the head.

Her phone was found in a field in June and had blood stains on it.

Jamie Hill KC, defending, said Nicholls' recollection of the incident is tainted by his consumption of alcohol and crack cocaine.

He was watched by Ms Sanderson's family members as he was sentenced.

Read more: Man charged with murder of woman whose body was found in a house ten days after she went missing

In a statement read to the court, Ms Sanderson's mother, Christine Shann, said: "Emily was an incredible person.

"She was deeply and dearly loved by me, her three children, her siblings, her family, and her many, many friends.

"It is impossible to overstate the emotional damage wrought by her murder. Her son and two daughters have lost their mother.

"Emily and her kids adored and cared for each other; they needed her in their lives, and she has been stolen.

"I have had the daughter I love taken away; I have had to experience every parent's nightmare and live through the death of my own child.

"Emily had close, precious relationships with all of her siblings and was a huge and irreplaceable part of their lives."

Ms Shann added: 'What we have experienced in the wake of this tragedy has done irreversible damage to all our lives; she was the heart of our family, and our heart has been ripped out.

"We miss her so much; her absence is so keenly felt. We will never celebrate with her again, never be held by her, never receive any more of her help and support, hear her jokes, or spend time with her. She will never meet her children's children.

"We will never see her realise her immense potential and share with her the life she deserved, free of violence. We feel this every day and will continue to feel it as long as we live."

The judge overseeing the case, Jeremy Richardson KC, told Nicholls he had committed a "wicked act".

Judge Richardson added: "You perpetrated a brutal murder on a young woman. You repeatedly bludgeoned her with determined ferocity. You intended to kill her.

"I have no doubt whatsoever that it was your plan - an irrational plan - to bury the body of Emily Sanderson in your garden.

"There is not one ounce of justification or legitimate explanation for what you did.'

"This was a sustained, extremely violent attack upon a defenceless woman. This was an unrelenting avalanche of violence visited upon her by you. It was truly a wicked act.'

After sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Andrea Bowell said Nicholls murdered in a "fit of rage".

The Detective added Nicholls "has since made considerable efforts to place the blame for her death on Emily herself"

"Within minutes of his appalling crime, he commenced a considered, thought-out, and protracted plan to conceal her remains and escape prosecution.

"He has shown no real remorse for his truly horrific actions and the subsequent torture he has put her family through."

South Yorkshire Police made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) at the time of the incident and this is ongoing, the force said.