BOURNEMOUTH MAN JAILED FOR BONDAGE MURDER
Alan Pickersgill, aged 37, received a prison sentence of at least 19 years after being convicted of murdering his former partner, Julie Bywater.The court was informed that Pickersgill, who resided on Wayside Road, committed the murder at his residence in Bournemouth during May 2010.
Prosecutors explained that he strangled Ms.
Bywater, a teaching assistant, with a cable tie after she ended their relationship in April.
During proceedings at Winchester Crown Court, the jury found Pickersgill guilty of murder but cleared him of a separate charge of rape.
He argued that Ms.
Bywater had unintentionally strangled herself during a bondage sex game, but the court determined that his actions were deliberate.
Evidence presented included that he had installed CCTV in his apartment and placed a tracking device on her car without her awareness.
A recorded message from Pickersgill played in court revealed he had admitted, 'Julie and I were in a massage, one thing led to another and it ended up in sex and I killed her.' The authorities discovered him with Ms.
Bywater’s body unclothed and a cable tie around her neck.
The presiding judge sentenced him to life imprisonment with a minimum of 19 years, accounting for time already served on remand.
