Woman murdered ex with help of jealous new lover and three boys before dumping body near Woodhead Pass
The murderous couple and their three young accomplices carried out the killing 10 years ago this month
A murderous couple recruited three teenage boys to help them kill a spurned former lover, before subjecting him to further humiliation and dumping his body in a lay-by near to the Woodhead Pass.
The body of Rotherham man Craig Preston was found by dog walkers on the moors of the A628 at Woodhead Tunnels, at the side of the Woodhead Pass, Derbyshire in August 2016 - 10 years ago this month.
A post-mortem examination revealed 34-year-old Craig had suffered 27 different injuries to his head and neck in the vicious attack, and ultimately died of head injuries.
The fatal attack was carried out by Craig’s on-off girlfriend, Leonie Mason, then aged 23, along with her “controlling” and jealous new lover, Shiraz Bashir, then aged 41.
The killer couple were found guilty of Craig’s murder at a Sheffield Crown Court trial, which concluded in July 2017.
They recruited three young boys, each of whom was only 15-years-old at the time, to assist them with their killer plan.
Jurors found the boys guilty of Craig’s manslaughter, but cleared them on the charge of murder.
After inflicting the fatal injuries upon Craig, the violent group did not stop there.
They pulled his trousers and underwear down around his ankles to humiliate and degrade him further.
A souvenir picture showing Craig, lying mortally wounded in the boot of a car, was found on a phone recovered from the address at Holme Park Court, Huddersfield, where Mason and Bashir were arrested.
Far from being in shock after killing Craig, Mason and Bashir took their three teenage accomplices for a “celebratory McDonald’s” in the hours after the fatal attack.
Sentencing the killer couple to life imprisonment in June 2017, Mr Justice Stephen Males said neither of them had shown any remorse for their actions and they had inflicted “additional humiliation and degradation” by stripping Mr Preston of his lower garments.
Mr Justice Males told Bashir he played a “greater role in the painful and degrading” murder and must serve at least 22 years behind bars.
He said: “I consider that you are significantly the more culpable. You are older and more mature, and to some extent Leonie Mason was under your spell.”
Justice Males told Mason she must serve a minimum of 19 years, adding that her troubled background provided some mitigation’.
Boy A, then 15, was jailed for four years; Boy B, then aged 16, was given three years, four months in prison and Boy C, then 15, was given three years.
All three boys served their sentences in a youth prison.
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