Megan Newborough: what happened to 23-year-old as Ross McCullam sentenced over her murder

A “sadistic” murderer who throttled and cut the throat of a female work colleague he had been dating for less than a month has been jailed for life with a minimum of 23 years.

“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.

After his conviction detectives said the 30-year-old would likely have killed again. Porn-obsessed McCullam, who also carried out searches for serial killers Levi Bellfield and Peter Sutcliffe, sought to blame Miss 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 6 August, 2021.

But the claim was only the start of a web of lies he told, with jurors hearing how Miss Newborough had told her parents she was driving to McCullam’s house to go for a walk and would not be long.

What happened at the sentencing hearing?

He was jailed on Friday in front of more than 20 members of 23-year-old HR worker Miss Newborough’s family, by Judge Philip Head who described the killing as a “truly dreadful” crime.

“I regard you cutting her throat as a very substantial aggravating factor. It was the truly dreadful and sustained way you ensured that intention to kill was achieved.” He said of “stellar” Miss Newborough: “It was her dreadful misfortune to become involved in a relationship with you.”

During her victim impact statement Miss Newborough’s older sister Claire Newborough, turned to McCullam, who was sitting crying to himself in the dock a few short yards across the courtroom and described him as the very “definition” of a “monster”.

“The definition of a monster is cruel, frightening and evil – and it is to my relief the defendant has been recognised as a monster,” she said.

“You are an unpredictable menace, a danger to women, obsessed with serial killers,” adding he also seemed obsessed with his own notoriety.

What happened to Megan Newborough?

The pair, who met while both working at brickmaker Ibstock, had only been seeing each other three weeks. Not content with strangling the 23-year-old – McCullam then used a carving knife to cut her throat “in a sawing motion”, 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 Miss 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. McCullam, who was stood in the court dock to hear the jury, nodded twice as the verdict was read by the foreman.

The lab technician likely murdered Miss Newborough, of Nuneaton, Warwickshire, shortly after she arrived around 8.08pm but no later than 8.49pm on 6 August. Footage captured on her parents’ Ring doorbell camera showed the last time she was seen alive, as she walked to her car.

After the killing, he attempted to clean up blood in the lounge, then put her body headfirst into the footwell of her vehicle.Before driving off, McCullam – who had no driving licence – also sent a text message, asking if she had made it home safe, including one reading “You are amazing”, along with kisses and a smiling emoji.

Who is Ross McCullam?

McCullam, who lived in virtual squalor in his litter-strewn bedroom, drove her body to a country lane – throwing out her phone on the way – where he callously dumped her remains near Woodhouse Eaves, Leicestershire.

He changed into a clean set of clothes before abandoning her car near Loughborough College campus, then ordering a taxi to drop him 100 yards from his front door. He then sent text messages asking if she had made it home safe.

McCullam had also conducted online searches linked to serial killer Levi Bellfield, Soham killer Ian Huntley and Yorkshire ripper Peter Sutcliffe. 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 30-year-old, of Coalville, Leicestershire, was obsessed with pornography and sexual imagery. McCullam claimed the murderous attack was triggered because he suffered PTSD, having been a victim of childhood sexual abuse. But the prosecution said those claims were a “pack of lies” McCullam used to cover up for his violent attack.

Instead, the Crown alleged, McCullam murdered Miss Newborough because of his anger at being sexually impotent immediately prior to the attack, and on an earlier occasion the weekend before. Prosecutors pointed to his having ordered tadalafil pills off the internet, used to treat erectile dysfunction.

Egotistical McCullam was eventually undone by the changing accounts he gave police in interview, and later in the court witness box. On remand, McCullam also bragged to a cellmate about using the knife, and suggested he would use his mental health as a “tool” at trial.

In another incident, he was overheard on a prison landing by a guard laughing as he told other inmates “If you carry on like this, you’ll end up like Megan”. Another prison guard also heard him joking openly with other inmates about the killing, telling fellow inmates “if I had gone a bit further I’d have taken her head off”.

In a chilling postscript to his crime, McCullam – in a 30-second voice message sent to Ms Newborough’s phone, knowing she was dead – said: “I had a fun time earlier.”

What has Megan’s family said?

In a statement released after McCullam’s conviction, Miss Newborough’s family said: “We simply don’t know where to begin. We’re a large, close-knit family and our lives have been well and truly ripped apart.

“Megan shone like a star to everyone she came into contact with. She excelled at work and was an enthusiastic dancer, teaching children of all ages. She had a bright future ahead of her.

“Megan was only 23 when she was killed – she was just days away from her 24th birthday and was about to move into her own house. We’ve still got things she’d bought and items she was going to take with her, which serve as a cruel reminder.

“It’s difficult to put into words the feeling we have knowing we won’t see our daughter, sister, granddaughter and cousin prosper as a young adult. We’re extremely grateful for the love and support given by those closest to us, but we’re still living in a nightmare.

“Having a knock at your door in the early hours of the morning to say a loved one is dead is something nobody should ever have to deal with. At that moment, our hearts were shattered beyond repair. Again, it’s almost impossible to describe how numb you become. You’re unable to think, sleep or function properly. Megan’s story is our story – we’re the ones serving the life sentence.

“She was an incredibly good judge of character. She knew who she could and couldn’t trust. She left home that night in a very happy mood. The thought of what happened to her just hours later – and the evil facing her – is something we can’t escape.

“The same thoughts constantly go around in our heads – should we have known? Is there anything we could’ve done? We’re still overcome with guilt for not protecting her.

“Everything still doesn’t seem real and when we’re at home, we still expect Megan to walk through the front door. It’s an expectation we don’t think will ever leave us.”