Sarah Henshaw death: Man who murdered ex-partner and dumped her body in lay-by jailed for life

A man who murdered his ex-partner at her home and dumped the body in an isolated lay-by near the M1, has been jailed for life. Darren Hall, 36 has been sentenced to life in prison and must serve a minimum of 17 years before he can be considered for release for murdering Sarah Henshaw, 31 earlier this year.

Darren had attacked Sarah at her own home in Ilkeston, Derbyshire on the night of June 20 before driving her body 20 miles away to an isolated woodland area. During his trial at Derby Crown Court, jurors heard that the two had met in 2011 and had experienced a turbulent relationship but were separated at the time of her death.

Darren, who worked as a carpet fitter, let himself into her house with a key he had kept to the property in Norman Street and later that evening a loud bang was heard from inside the house. On June 21 at around 1.56am, Darren drove his works van to a lay-by on the A617 to dispose of the body.

He would later lie to friends and family that Sarah had simply left the house and that he had no idea where she was. Instead of reporting her as missing, he covered his tracks returning to Sarah’s home and disposing of a number of items, including her dressing gown and slippers which officers found in a nearby skip. The trial heard how Hall acted normally in the days after her murder, going about his daily business as if nothing happened.

Darren was arrested three days after she had been killed after receiving reports that she had not been seen. During investigation, Darren assured the police that no harm had come to Sarah, that he did not know where she was, and that he hoped she was still alive.

Asked about the night of June 20 he concocted a story about being woken by the pet dog having a fit, banging into the furniture, which caused an argument between the pair. Darren said he took their duvet, which was too big for their washing machine, to his van and then drove around.

He said he drove for an hour and eventually told officers that he had headed north on the M1 and had come off at junction 29. When he returned to Ilkeston, he said Sarah left saying she was going to a friend’s house and that was the last time he had seen her.

In further interviews when questioned about Sarah’s disappearance, which was now being treated as a murder investigation, he told officers that he didn’t know where she was and that it was “their job” to find her. Meanwhile the murder investigation team were trawling through information about the 36-year-old's whereabouts in the early hours of June 21.

Phone data showed that he drove to the A617 bypass that runs between junction 29 of the M1 and Chesterfield – stopping at one of the laybys on the west-bound carriageway. When his phone was forensically examined it showed that his torch was turned on and off during a 9-minute period.

A search team were sent to the layby on the evening of 25 June – and in the early hours of the following day they found Sarah’s badly decomposed body in a wooded area five metres away from the road.

DI Maria Pleace, who led the investigation, said: “Darren Hall is a manipulative, deceiving and dangerous individual. Only two people know what exactly happened that night. Sarah cannot tell us, and Hall refuses to give a factual account of the events.

“What we can be sure of is that Sarah’s life ended at his hand, that he dumped her body in the hope that she would never be found and then fabricated a story that Sarah had simply left. Thankfully the jury saw through his lies and have rightly found him guilty.

“Today, as they have been throughout this case, my thoughts are with Sarah’s family and friends. They have lost a much-loved niece, daughter, sister, and friend, in the most heart-breaking circumstances and I hope that this verdict provides them with the justice they, and Sarah, deserve.

“I want to thank them for their steadfastness over the past months and for the support they have provided to the investigation team – a team that have worked tirelessly to build a case that led the jury to today’s verdict.”