A “sadistic” murderer who murdered a female work colleague he had been dating for less than a month would likely have killed again, detectives have said.
“Ruthless” Ross McCullam, who had admitted manslaughter before his trial, was unanimously convicted of the “merciless” murder of intelligent and popular HR worker Megan Newborough, at Leicester Crown Court on Monday.
McCullam had alleged he acted only after a loss of control which she had inadvertently triggered during oral sex.
Porn-obsessed McCullam sought to blame Ms Newborough, claiming he went into a “blind rage” set off by undiagnosed PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) caused by unreported childhood sexual abuse.
He claimed the trigger for the attack happened as she tried to press him into a sexual encounter at his parents’ home in Windsor Close, Coalville, Leicestershire, on August 6, 2021.
But the claim was only the start of a web of lies he told, with jurors hearing how Ms Newborough had told her parents she was driving to McCullam’s house to go for a walk and would not be long.
Speaking after the conviction, Detective Inspector Jenni Heggs, of the East Midlands Special Operations Unit, described McCullam as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” and believed he would have “gone on to kill again”.
She said: “I think he has enjoyed it and been sexually aroused by it, by what he’s done. That’s a dangerous mix.”
The pair, who met while both working at brickmaker Ibstock, had only been seeing each other for three weeks.
Not content with strangling the 23-year-old, McCullam then cut her throat, John Cammegh KC, prosecuting, told jurors.
McCullam claimed he only used a knife because he was scared people – including Ms Newborough – might be “cross” and “angry” at him for having throttled her.
But jurors heard how the young woman had “left clues” to the truth by the defensive wounds and marks on her body inflicted at McCullam’s parents’ home, where he struck.
There were signs Ms Newborough had fought desperately to fend off McCullam in the lounge.
“She was covered in injuries, from her shin to the crown of her head,” said Mr Cammegh.
There were grip marks to both shoulders, and her left arm, likely inflicted as McCullam attempted to “silence” her, and suggesting a “sustained, long, merciless, struggle”.
Her FitBit had also been ripped off in the attack and was later recovered underneath a nearby television.
Mr Cammegh branded McCullam to jurors as a “sadistic killer” who had acted with “ruthless” intent.
“When it comes to women – this is a very dangerous man,” he said.
The jury agreed, convicting the former kitchen assistant in just an hour and a half on Monday.
If you carry on like this, you’ll end up like Megan.
