Woman guilty of murdering abusive partner in Co Antrim

A woman has been convicted of the murder of her abusive partner in Northern Ireland in 2022.

Julie Ann McIlwaine wept in Coleraine Crown Court as the jury's unanimous verdict was delivered and the judge sentenced her to life in prison.

The 33-year-old mother-of-four was found guilty of the murder of James Joseph Crossley at her former home on Filbert Drive in Dunmurry, Co Antrim on 2 March 2022.

She stabbed the 38-year-old in the chest, abdomen, leg and arm.

During the trial, the jury heard how Mr Crossley had been asleep and snoring in a bedroom, having drank alcohol and taken a sleeping tablet, when McIlwaine crept down the stairs.

She returned to the bedroom with a kitchen knife, moved their ten-month-old daughter and stabbed the victim ten times.

As he awoke and called out "help me Julie Ann" she grabbed the child and fled, locking herself in the downstairs bathroom.

She rang 999 and, under instruction from the call hander, ran to a neighbour's house for help.

An ambulance crew arrived and treated Mr Crossley. He died a short time later.

McIlwaine admitted to police that she inflicted the fatal wounds, but fought the murder charge on a partial defence of a loss of self control.

Abuse kept from family, friends and social services, trial heard

During interviews, she told detectives that the pair had been arguing that day, but "I was getting all these thoughts in my head … I didn’t know what was going on … I felt like a psychopath" as he lay sleeping.

"I didn’t want me and him to be together. I didn’t want to happen what happened," she said.

"I couldn’t stop, I just kept pushing it and pushing it. He said 'Julie Ann help me’ … I took the baby and ran out."

McIlwaine said their relationship began in January 2020 but between then and the fatal stabbing, there had been periods of separation with incidents of domestic violence, coercive control and verbal abuse which she kept from family, friends and social services.

At the time of his death, Mr Crossley was subject to a restraining order and was on bail for a violent assault on his partner.

Two psychiatrists gave evidence at the trial that while they did not give a view on whether McIlwaine had suffered a loss of control, the culmination of the physical assaults, psychological abuse and coercive control would have created a "traumatic bond" between the couple.

Following the jury’s verdict, the judge told McIlwaine that, once reports had been gathered, he would "hold a tariff hearing" where a minimum prison term would be set before she can be considered for release.

Mr Justice Kinney ordered a pre-sentence report and adjourned the case until 6 November to set a timetable for various reports and the tariff hearing.

There were angry exchanges between the McIlwaine and Crossley families as she left the court.