Man found guilty of 'brutal' Ingoldmells caravan murder

A man who carried out "a brutal attack" on his partner on her 64th birthday and left her dying in a pool of blood has been found guilty of murder.

Linda Treeby was found with fatal injuries in a caravan at the Summerlands Caravan Park, Ingoldmells, near Skegness, in May.

Andrew Highton, 51, of Highbury Road, Nottingham, denied murder, claiming Ms Treeby had attacked him first.

He is due to be sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court on Thursday.

The court was told Highton struck Ms Treeby with such force she received 34 separate injuries. Her nose was shattered into pieces and a bone in her throat was fractured.

Highton claimed he punched her "two, three or four times" in response to her attacking him.

William Harbage QC, prosecuting, said: "He assaulted her so severely that she died.

"It was not just two or three or four punches. You could never have caused that much damage with so few punches.

"He must have struck her again and again and again and again.

"This attack was savage. It was brutal. He must have intended to kill her."

The court previously heard the pair had spent the day in a nearby pub before returning to the caravan.

"What should have been a day of celebration turned into a vicious, sustained and ultimately fatal assault," Mr Harbage said.

Highton claimed he did not mean to hurt Ms Treeby but "lost it" after she told him his family hated him.

The court also heard he had told a health care worker "I wish I'd done it years ago" while in police custody.

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