Malton man sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering his ex-partner

Despite pleading not guilty Vincent Morgan, of Chandlers Wharf in Malton, was found guilty at Leeds Crown Court on December 2 of murdering Ms Welford, 49, who was described as a strong, caring woman by friends.

At 11.39pm, on the evening of Wednesday April 24, North Yorkshire Police were contacted by the ambulance service about a woman trapped in the River Derwent at Malton in North Yorkshire.

On arrival officers found Ms Welford in the river and Morgan on the riverbank claiming that she had jumped into the water.

Ms Welford was treated at the scene before being taken to hospital where it was found she was suffering from head injuries, a bleed on the brain, fractured ribs, a fractured collar bone and a severely fractured femur.

She was pronounced dead at 7.30am on Thursday April 25.

Morgan, described as a violent and controlling man by a previous partner, had a long history of physical abuse against Ms Welford.

At the time of the murder, he was subject to his third Domestic Violence Prevention Order (DVPO) and was on police bail under the condition that he had no contact with her.

He was initially arrested at the scene for breach of this DVPO, then later arrested and charged with Ms Welford’s murder.

Morgan was also found guilty of two counts of Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm (AOBH) against Ms Welford for which he has been committed to prison for two years and six months to run concurrently.

Detective Chief Inspector Shaun Page, who led the investigation, said: “This was a difficult and challenging case to work on, however, we absolutely welcome the murder verdict and sentence in court today but at this time our thoughts are with the family members at this difficult time.”