Kriti Mehrotra
It was in late 2018 when the entire world turned upside down for the Ann Pomphret family in Cheshire, England, as the matriarch lost her life in arguably one of the worst ways imaginable. The fact she had been heinously murdered was evident from the get-go, as explored in HBO Max’s ‘999 Murderer Calling: The Microscopic Mistake,’ yet it wasn’t until a year later that her case was finally brought to a close.
Ann Marie Pomphret Was Horrifically Killed While Doing What She Loved
At the age of 49, Ann Marie was not just a proud daughter but also a wife and mother who dedicated most of her time to her loved ones because that’s who she was. However, she also had an unwavering passion for animals, driving her to not only have stables of her own but also be a volunteer at nearby places so as to almost always be surrounded by horses. In fact, she was even a volunteer at Bolesworth International, played a major role in running the Somerford Park Premier League shows, and was truly heavily involved in the religious community in the northwest.
Therefore, when she was found dead on the evening of November 2, 2018 – mere hours after she had dropped her daughter off at college and did a grocery trip with her husband, David Pomphret, no one could believe it. The entire community was well aware of the fact that although she was kind, caring, as well as loving, she also had a short temper that affected most locals to the core. Yet, they never could have imagined it would lead her to be bludgeoned to death at her stables in Old Alder Lane, Burtonwood – as per her autopsy, she had been hit over her head with a heavy yet slender object over 30 times.
Investigators Left No Stones Unturned in Ann Marie Pomphret’s Case
While Ann Marie’s husband David’s initial accounts did seemingly make sense, because of a lack of witnesses and the rural surroundings, he was deemed the primary suspect. In fact, he was arrested on suspicion of murder within 12 hours of his 999 call, only to subsequently be released on bail owing to a lack of concrete evidence. They thus began scouring the entire city for clues, which included not just the land in itself but also surveillance footage from all local stores, forensic dips into all local lakes and ponds, as well as much more. In fact, as per reports, they didn’t leave a stone unturned.
Whether it be stopping cars, doing door duty, or interviewing David over 15 times within six months, the local investigators did it all, but unfortunately, to no avail. They had gotten a significant breakthrough three weeks into the matter as they found a fingerprintless, cleaned crowbar at the bottom of a pond mere miles away from the stables. The fact it had no traces of any sort of blood or use for that made officials believe this was the murder weapon, which was backed by her injuries matching the crowbar too. Yet they didn’t hinder their efforts no matter what the outcome may be.
All Fingers For Ann Marie Pomphret’s Murder Pointed to Her Husband
Although local officials were almost positive that David Pomphret was behind his wife’s homicide, they initially didn’t have any evidence to back to the same. We say “initially” because his story of him DIY-ing their daughter’s bathroom while his wife managed the stables seemed believable. That’s especially because they understood each other’s downtime activities despite their fair share of ups and downs, yet he allegedly grew worried when she didn’t return home even after two hours.
According to David’s account, he subsequently texted and called her, but when even they went unanswered, he decided to go to the stables himself with a torch. That’s when he claimed he found his wife’s body and dialed 999, asserting from all the get-go that she was “very dead” and that he could see her lying in a pool of her blood with her head sadly bashed in. However, the investigators found it a bit strange that this Assistant Vice President of the IT Department at Bercley’s was making this all about himself and that he even refused to give her CPR and also didn’t stand by her side all the time.
Nevertheless, it took 6 months and a second forensic analysis of David’s home that broke this case wide open as analysts found tiny microbic specks of David’s blood on a pair of his socks. These were unexpectedly not from when he found her, per reports, because the splatter pattern on it was airborne and messy. It was only then that he confessed for good, resulting in him being arrested and charged with murder on April 3, 2019 – a mere six months following the day she lost her life.
David Pomphret is Serving His Life Term Behind Bars
According to reports, David did file for the charge against him to be manslaughter instead of murder on the grounds that his actions were not premeditated, yet it didn’t pan out. That’s because, according to his own accounts, he and Ann Marie had actually gone to the stables together following their shopping trip, which actually ended in heartbreak. He confessed there was an argument that broke out between him and his wife, which led to some regrettable words and regrettable actions, including her heinous murder.
David actually claimed Ann Marie was the one to lose control first, but it soon shifted and he doesn’t remember much until she was already lying dead on the floor. He then panicked, but he didn’t want to be caught so he threw the crowbar in a pond, burned his clothes, threw another barrel of his clothing by a highway, and did everything in his power to keep her safe and happy. However, he did forget to dispose of a pair of his socks, which ultimately became his downfall. Yet, to have an alibi, he drove away with his DIY tool kit, set it up in his daughter’s bathroom, sorted their grocery shopping, and texted her, alongside much more, to have an alibi of sorts.
In the end, after 11 months of the incident, in October 2019, a judge found him guilty before sentencing him to life in prison without parole for 2 decades. So now, it appears as if the then 51-year-old is incarcerated at an His Majesty’s Prison in England, where he is scheduled to remain until at least 2048, when he is in his late 70s. Unfortunately, we do not know the exact correctional facility wherein he is currently housed.
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