Kelly Ann was a naive 14 year old girl when an older man named James Patterson Smith; the teen had been babysitting, and James had a friend of her employer’s family. The 48 year old unemployed divorcee from Manchester, England offered to walk the girl home, and from that point on he began to groom his future victim.
James has an extended history of abusing the girls in his life – and yes, nearly all of them had been girls. His ex wife described him as a “sadistic misogynist” and it seems that every female this man had ever been involved with was mercilessly abused. It’s safe to say they were lucky to escape the relationship with their lives. This man had tried to drown the 15 year old girlfriend he’d been with just before Kelly Anne by holding her head under the kitchen sink.
In 1993, Kelly and James began dating. The couple had hidden their love from Kelly’s disapproving parents, but at 16 (the age of consent) she moved in with him. When she finally met James, Kelly’s mama immediately had a sinking feeling in her stomach, she knew this would not end well; the mother has stated that, even though he’d done nothing wrong, on their first encounter she had a very strong urge to grab a knife and stab this man. I’d say that’s a mama’s intuition.
After Kelly decided to live with James, she moved back home often enough. Her parents consistently noticed bruises on their daughter, but as victims of domestic violence usually do, Kelly explained them away. Abrupt personality changes changes were also noted: Kelly Ann was not the happy, chatty girl they’d raised – suddenly she was quiet, nervous, and her appearance was unkempt. She rarely bathed, and her clothes were filthy, all of which very much out of character for Kelly Anne.
November of 1995 was the very last time they ever saw their daughter. She’d quit the job which she’d loved so much, phone calls home grew rare, then in March of 1996 they completely ceased; letters and cards took their place, but the teenager’s parents noticed that the handwriting was obviously not Kelly’s. Her parents knew damn good and well that something was terribly wrong! They’d contacted the police, but since she was 16 and capable of making her own decisions, law enforcement refused to help the terrified parents.
On April 17, 1996. James went to the police station and calmly explained that his girlfriend his accidentally drowned in the bath; he claiming that she had inhaled bathwater and died even though he’d tried his best to save her. Upon entering the residence it was immediately realized that there was no way this was an accidental death.
Kelly’s nude body was discovered in a bedroom, and her blood was found in every room of the house, and autopsy found 150 separate injuries upon her body. The pathologist stated that, “In my career, I have examined almost 600 victims of homicide but I have never come across injuries so extensive.”.
Kelly Anne had been tortured during the last month of her life. She had been kept bound, sometimes tied by her hair to the radiator or chairs, and at other times with a ligature around her neck. There were scars on her face, ears, nose, lips, and even the poor girl’s genitals. She’d been stabbed and sliced over and over and over again with various objects such as knives, a garden spade, pruning shears, scissors, and even a fork. The teen had been terribly burnt on her buttocks and leg, which had likely been caused by boiling water, and she’d been tortured with a scalding hot iron on her thigh. Her scalp had even been torn away! Kelly’s kneecaps and the bones in her hand had been shattered after being smashed, and her arm fractured, so there was no possible way that she could’ve possibly fought back. She was also starved for a prolonged period of time and even denied water.
Still the worst is yet to come, let me tell you what this monster did to this poor girl’s eyes – they’d both been gouged out long before her death. But even after her eyeballs had been removed, there’s proof that her killer often stabbed her through the empty sockets. Finally James dragged his victim to the tub, beat her some more, then drowned the girl.
Even with all of the proof that this was obviously a murder, James stuck to his story: he’d done nothing wrong at all – Kelly Ann had been crazy, every bit of this had been self inflicted, she’d tortured herself! At trial he said that Kelly often made fun of James’s deceased mother, which she knew would easily trigger him. She’d hurt herself, then start a fight and in self defense he would harm her.
James Patterson Smith was sentenced to serve at least 20 years in prison, and the judge recommended that he never be released – and let’s hope he never is. This killer has been diagnosed as a sadistic psychopath who will always harm women if given the opportunity. As far as I know, he’s still rotting away in a jail cell.
*Some news! This site has been saved! Also there’s a new article including crime scene photos on my Patreon. I’ve intentionally set lowest tier to join at just $3 per month. I’m saying all this because it’s been mentioned to me multiple times this week that I should start a Patreon, so apparently I don’t advertise it enough. I’ll leave a link
www.patreon.com/morbidnmacabre
I am filled will disgust at this man, like wth makes some body be such an revolting person. I’m betting she wasn’t his first victim.
In these instances the death sentence is viable.
I know, it’s so upsetting
This makes me absolutely I’ll! Poor girl.
I am terribly sickened, shocked and disgusted by what was done to this poor little girl! She was still merely a baby!
It is so sad