View source for Murder of Jane Longhurst

{{Short description|2003 homicide case in England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

'''Jane Longhurst''' (6 November 1971 {{ndash}} 14 March 2003) was a British special-needs teacher and musician who was murdered by '''Graham Coutts''' on 14 March 2003.<ref name=":3" /> Longhurst's partly decomposed body was found burning in woodland in [[West Sussex]] on 19 April. Coutts, who was dating Longhurst's best friend, was a guitarist and part-time salesperson living in [[Brighton]].

Coutts admitted to causing Longhurst's death. He claimed that Longhurst had died accidentally during consensual [[erotic asphyxiation]], although the prosecution maintained that there was no evidence suggesting the two had been lovers. Coutts was convicted of murder on 3 February 2004, and sentenced to a [[life imprisonment|life term]] serving a minimum of 30 years (reduced to 26 years on [[appeal]] on 26 January 2005). The conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal on 19 July 2006, and a new trial started on 12 June 2007.<ref name="perversion">12 June 2007. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/southern_counties/6744817.stm Man 'murdered out of perversion']. BBC News. Retrieved on 4 September 2007.</ref> He was again found guilty on 4 July 2007.

==Murder trial==
During the original murder trial in 2004 and the retrial in 2007, Coutts said that he had a [[Sexual fetishism|fetish]] for necks and [[strangulation]]. His testimony, confirmed by witnesses, stated he had engaged in [[breath control play]] with several consenting partners on many occasions without incident over several years.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2004-02-04 |title=A failed musician with a taste for violence |url=http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/feb/04/ukcrime1 |access-date=2022-05-29 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref>

The Court heard that Coutts had sexually-arousing murderous thoughts about women since he was 15,<ref name="perversion" /> and after speaking with his GP about his fixations, was referred for psychiatric help.<ref name=":1">{{cite news |date=15 June 2007 |title=Musician 'had murderous thoughts' |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/sussex/6756863.stm |accessdate=4 May 2010}}</ref> [[Consultant psychiatrist]] Larry Culliford testified that he had seen Coutts in 1991, 12 years before the murder, and that Coutts told him that he feared his thoughts might lead to criminal action.<ref name=":1" /> Coutts had a self-confessed addiction to internet pornography<ref name=":0" /> and accessed [[Extreme pornography|violent pornography]] that simulated strangulation, [[rape]] and [[necrophilia]].<ref name=":4" /> He had downloaded images of dead and strangled women the day before Longhurst's death.<ref name=":0" /> The prosecution said that Coutts' use of violent pornography to satisfy his "sexual fantasies" had led to his dangerous sexual behaviour and murderous intent.<ref name=":2" />

Coutts testified that he wrapped a pair of tights around Longhurst's neck as part of consensual sex and that her death was an accident;<ref name=":5" /> he said it was the first occurrence of a sexual act between them.<ref name=":1" /> The prosecution claimed that he had invited her to his flat under false pretences, then attacked and killed her to "satisfy his very long-standing and perverted sexual interest in violence to women and in particular the killing of women by strangulation".<ref name="perversion" />

Evidence was given by a [[defense (law)|defence]] witness that several years earlier, Longhurst had whispered to a colleague that a sexual encounter the previous night had "involved some kind of stopping breathing".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-06-30 |title=Dead teacher made sex confession, court told |url=http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.1502022.0.0.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070630171903/http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.1502022.0.0.php |archive-date=30 June 2007 |access-date=4 September 2007 |website=The Herald}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-06-28 |title=Murder case teacher 'spoke of sex games to colleague' |url=http://icberkshire.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200berkshireheadlines/tm_headline=murder-case-teacher--spoke-of-sex-games-to-colleague-&method=full&objectid=19369624&siteid=50102-name_page.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070630144935/http://icberkshire.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200berkshireheadlines/tm_headline=murder-case-teacher--spoke-of-sex-games-to-colleague-&method=full&objectid=19369624&siteid=50102-name_page.html |archive-date=30 June 2007 |access-date=2022-05-29 |website=icBerkshire.co.uk}}</ref> The defence claimed that this was evidence that the deceased had engaged in activity with another partner, similar to that claimed by Coutts. Longhurst's boyfriend and a previous lover stated that they had not indulged in erotic asphyxia with her.<ref name=":3" /> Prosecution witnesses testified that Longhurst was in a stable relationship with her long-term boyfriend and that they were happy together.<ref name="perversion" />

Coutts initially kept the body in his flat in Hove, but then moved it in to a storage unit at [[Big Yellow Self Storage]] in [[Brighton]].<ref name="theargus.co.uk">{{Cite web |title=''The Argus'': Jane Longhurst – the Verdict |url=https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/5097827.jane-longhurst-the-verdict/ |access-date=22 November 2020}}</ref> He visited the storage unit 11 times while the body was there.<ref name="theargus.co.uk" /> After he removed the body from the unit, Big Yellow staff noticed the smell and alerted police.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite web |title=''The Argus'': Meet the man who caught Jane's killer |url=https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/5097829.meet-the-man-who-caught-janes-killer/ |access-date=21 November 2020}}</ref> The Court heard that Coutts hid Longhurst's body for a month and that it was found in secluded woodland after he set it on fire.<ref name=":5">{{Cite news |date=2007-06-25 |title=Teacher death knot shown to court |language=en-GB |work=BBC |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/sussex/6238598.stm |access-date=2022-05-29}}</ref>

===Pathologists' expert testimony===
Home Office pathologist Vesna Djurovic testified that Coutts must have been aware of the medical emergency for two to three minutes before death became inevitable. Had Coutts acted on this emergency as soon as he became aware of it, Longhurst would definitely have survived. By continuing to constrict her neck with a ligature long after becoming aware of the emergency, Coutts showed the necessary [[mens rea]] for murder. Djurovic said that Longhurst's death could have been from heart attack or [[vagal inhibition]], but in her experience, these were unlikely mechanisms.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2006-05-12 |title=Case No: 2004/01244/D1 |url=http://www.crimeline.info/cases/coutts.htm |access-date=2022-05-29 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060512194255/http://www.crimeline.info/cases/coutts.htm |archive-date=12 May 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Djurovic's evidence was contested by defence pathologist, Richard Shepherd, whose expert opinion was that death could have occurred very quickly by vagal inhibition, taking as little as one or two seconds.<ref name=":3" />

==Murder conviction and appeals==
On 4 February 2004, after his first trial, Coutts was convicted of Longhurst's murder and began serving a 30-year minimum prison term.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |date=2006-07-19 |title=Lords overturn murder conviction of musician obsessed with violence |url=http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/jul/20/ukcrime.jeevanvasagar |access-date=2022-05-30 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=20 July 2006 |title=Teacher killer wins conviction appeal |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1524372/Teacher-killer-wins-conviction-appeal.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160707092301/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1524372/Teacher-killer-wins-conviction-appeal.html |archive-date=7 July 2016 |access-date=2022-05-30 |website=www.telegraph.co.uk}}</ref> He pursued an appeal on multiple grounds, including the issue of manslaughter charges and his minimum prison term, which was brought to the [[Court of Appeal (England and Wales)|Court of Appeal]] in December 2004. In January 2005, the Court of Appeal rejected Coutts' appeal against his murder conviction, but upheld that the jury should have been given a possible manslaughter verdict, and reduced his minimum prison term to 26 years.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":9" /> Coutts' case was then taken to the House of Lords and on 19 July 2006, the [[Law Lords]] overturned the murder conviction, ruling that the jury should have been presented with a possible manslaughter verdict. This verdict would have been appropriate had the jury decided that the death was an accident caused by Coutts' negligence.<ref name=":8" /> On 19 October 2006, his conviction was formally quashed by the Court of Appeal and a re-trial ordered;<ref>{{Cite news |date=2006-10-19 |title=Teacher murder conviction quashed |language=en-GB |work=BBC |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/southern_counties/6065140.stm |access-date=2022-05-30}}</ref> this began on 11 June 2007 at the Old Bailey.<ref name="perversion"/><ref name=":10">{{Cite web |date=2007-07-05 |title=Teacher's killer found guilty of sex murder on retrial |url=http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/jul/05/ukcrime.helencarter |access-date=2022-05-30 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref> Coutts was convicted on 4 July 2007 by an 11 to one majority verdict. The following day, 5 July, Coutts was sentenced once again to a life term (serving a minimum of 26 years).<ref name=":10" />

==Criminalisation of possession of "extreme pornography"==
{{Main|Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008}}

The possible link with what the Government termed "[[extreme pornography]]" led to calls from Longhurst's mother Liz, the police, MP [[Martin Salter]] and [[Home Secretary]] [[David Blunkett]] to ban such websites.<ref name=":2">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3459755.stm |work=BBC News|title=Victim's mother in web porn plea|date=4 February 2004|accessdate=4 May 2010}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3460855.stm |work=BBC News|title=UK police seek web porn crackdown|date=5 February 2004|accessdate=4 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/berkshire/3471441.stm |work=BBC News|title=MP calls for violent porn ban|date=9 February 2004|accessdate=4 May 2010}}</ref> A campaign by the government and Liz Longhurst collected a petition of over 50,000 signatures<ref name=":6" /> calling for a ban on "extreme internet sites promoting violence against women in the name of sexual gratification" after the original murder conviction of Coutts.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pook |first=Sally |date=15 August 2005 |title='The internet normalised Graham Coutts's peverse impulses. That is the danger' |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/08/15/nporn115.xml/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311095157/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/08/15/nporn115.xml/ |archive-date=2007-03-11 |access-date=2022-05-30 |website=Telegraph.co.uk}}</ref> Unable to shut down the websites, many of which were legally hosted in the UK and US, the Home Office was motivated to consult on criminalising possession of "extreme pornographic material", including images of consenting adults, and staged "realistic depictions" of such acts.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |date=August 2006 |title=Consultation on the Possession of Extreme Pornographic Material - Summary of responses and next steps |url=http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/cons-extreme-porn-3008051/Gvt-response-extreme-porn2.pdf?view=Binary |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061209033444/http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/cons-extreme-porn-3008051/Gvt-response-extreme-porn2.pdf?view=Binary |archive-date=9 December 2006 |access-date=2022-05-30 }}</ref> Although the consultation found 63% of responses opposed strengthening the law to address the "challenges of the Internet",<ref name=":7" /> the UK government announced on 30 August 2006 that it intended to introduce new laws governing the possession of "extreme pornography". The possession of such material would be punishable by up to three years' imprisonment. The [[Consenting Adult Action Network]] protested against the resultant law,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-10-19 |title=Consenting Adult Action Network |url=http://www.caan.org.uk/ |access-date=2022-05-30 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081019185739/http://www.caan.org.uk/ |archive-date=19 October 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[sadomasochism|SM]] group Unfettered created a campaign, [[Backlash (pressure group)|Backlash]], in opposition to such changes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Backlash-uk.org.uk - Pornography a controversial topic |url=http://www.backlash-uk.org.uk/ |access-date=2022-05-30 |website=www.backlash-uk.org.uk}}</ref>

Proponents of the new laws called them a way of protecting women from similar tragedies. Critics said that the reverse may be true, citing evidence from Japan, the United States, Denmark and elsewhere that sexually motivated crime negatively correlates with the availability of pornography, or that such laws could criminalize those who are not violent.<ref name=":6">Chris Summers. 4 July 2007. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6237226.stm 'Extreme' porn proposals spark row]. BBC News. Retrieved on 4 September 2007.</ref>

On 26 January 2009, [[Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008]] came into force in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, introducing a new offence of possession of "extreme pornographic images".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-11-26 |title=New offence of possession of extreme pornographic images |url=http://www.justice.gov.uk/news/announcement261108a.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210015947/http://www.justice.gov.uk/news/announcement261108a.htm |archive-date=2008-12-10 |access-date=2022-05-30 |website=Ministry of Justice}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Murders in the United Kingdom in the 2000s}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Longhurst, Jane}}
[[Category:2003 murders in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:2003 in England]]
[[Category:Crime in Brighton and Hove]]
[[Category:United Kingdom pornography law]]
[[Category:Violence against women in England]]
[[Category:21st century in Brighton and Hove]]