Killer who hid woman's body in woods found guilty

A man has been found guilty of the manslaughter of a woman whose body was dumped in a woodland grave, but has been cleared of her murder.

Mohammed Durnion, 42, had denied killing Reanne Coulson, 33, claiming she died from an overdose after an argument at his flat on Paynes Lane, Coventry, in May last year.

Jurors at Warwick Crown Court heard Durnion, a labourer, strangled the mother-of-two before disposing of her body.

Prosecutors had alleged the defendant killed Coulson in a sudden and deliberate attack, then invented a mental health crisis when police arrived minutes later.

Jurors deliberated for more than 10 hours over four days before finding Durnion guilty of manslaughter by a majority 11-1 verdict.

The accused stared at the floor and remained calm in the dock as the verdicts were read out.

Durnion's co-defendant and friend Adam Moore, 39, was also convicted of assisting an offender by helping in the disposal of Coulson's body a day after she was strangled.

Moore, of Marlcroft in Willenhall, Coventry, had denied the charge, claiming he went to the woods to look for Durnion.

Coulson's buried remains were found five weeks after a police search of Durnion's flat failed to find her body, which was initially hidden under a mattress.

The labourer was caught on police body-worn cameras minutes after the killing as he feigned a mental health crisis and falsely claimed his father had cancer.

A three-week trial heard police were sent to his flat after a 999 call made by a neighbour who heard the victim, a sex worker who was known to take drugs, shouting for help.

He had claimed the 33-year-old died from a drugs overdose on the night of 21 May, when he had also taken "stupid amounts" of cocaine and panicked, before burying her body about five miles away in Binley Woods.

Prosecutors said Coulson had been attacked and strangled, causing her death.

Jurors were instructed to find Durnion guilty of the alternative charge of manslaughter if they believed he had not intended to cause Coulson really serious bodily harm.

Footage of Durnion taking officers to the grave, near a bridleway, and speaking to police outside his flat was issued by West Midlands Police following his conviction.

Video was also released of a subsequent search by police which did not uncover the victim's body hidden in a bedroom.

On the footage filmed in woodland on 27 June, Durnion can be seen pointing towards undergrowth, telling police "she is under there" and saying the body was buried "deep enough".

He initially refused to answer police questions after his arrest on June 24, but took officers to the makeshift grave after being shown a media appeal made by his victim's worried relatives.

A statement from Coulson's family thanked witnesses and those who had supported them through an "incredibly difficult time" and paid tribute to the "beautiful, vibrant person she was".

"Reanne was a devoted mother, a loving daughter, a caring sister and a loyal friend. She was beautiful and kind," they said.

"Her warmth and humour touched everyone who knew her. She is missed every single day.

"She was an irreplaceable part of the family and the space she leaves will never be filled."

She had disappeared after attending a support group at a Catholic church, where she appeared to be well.

A post-mortem examination was unable to establish a cause of death, police said, but it revealed the victim, 5ft 1ins and weighing less than nine stone, appeared to have suffered head and neck injuries while still alive.

She was also found with burns which occurred after petrol was used in an attempt to destroy her body following her death.

Det Insp Nigel Box from West Midlands Police said: "This was a brutal attack on a defenceless woman which took place within minutes of her entering Durnion's home."

He added: "Moore will have known exactly what was going on and, maybe through misplaced loyalty, he decided to help Durnion rather than spare Reanne's family the prolonged agony of not knowing what had happened to her."

Giovanni D'Alessandro from the Crown Prosecution Service said: "This was an act that cruelly cut short the life of an innocent woman."

He added neither defendant had shown remorse or taken accountability for what they had done. "Instead, they forced Reanne's family to sit through a trial and relive every detail of what happened to her."

Both defendants are due to be sentenced on Thursday.

West Midlands Police said a review of the circumstances around the search of the premises was carried out by its Professional Standards Department.

In a statement, the force said it had informed Coulson's family of the review and expressed regret it did not find her body in Durnion's flat.

"No misconduct was identified although some opportunities for learning were identified and implemented," the statement added.

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