A mother-of-four convicted by a jury of murdering her partner was today (Thursday) told she will be sentenced “in the near future” for the fatal knife attack.
Julie Ann McIlwaine stabbed James Joseph Crossley multiple times in the bedroom of her home at Filbert Drive in Dunmurry on the evening of March 2, 2022. The 34-year old denied the murder charge and a trial was held in Coleraine Crown Court last October.
At the conclusion of the trial, the jury unanimously convicted McIlwaine, from Hazel Close in Lagmore, of murdering her 38-year old partner - and on October 23 last year she was handed a Life Sentence by Mr Justice Kinney.
She was back in court today for a pre-tariff hearing and after listening to final submissions from both the Crown and defence, the senior judge said he would impose the tariff - the minimum period McIlwaine will spend in jail before she is considered eligible for release - “in the near future”.
During the trial, the jury heard evidence that the relationship between the defendant and the deceased was “toxic” and included incidents of domestic abuse. At the time of his death, Mr Crossley was on bail for a domestic-related incident.
At today’s hearing, which took place at Belfast Crown Court, Mr Justice Kinney was addressed first by Crown barrister Richard Weir KC. Describing the murder as “callous” and “pre-meditated”, Mr Weir said it occurred when a “vulnerable” Mr Crossley was sleeping in an upstairs bedroom after he had consumed alcohol and sleeping tablets.
Pointing out that McIlwaine went to the kitchen, armed herself with the “largest knife in the set” then walked up the stairs, Mr Weir said she moved her 10-month old daughter out of the way before stabbing Mr Crossley multiple times “with the intention of killing him and nothing else”.
He added that after Mr Crossley was roused from his sleep by the knife attack, he asked McIlwaine for assistance which she failed to provide. Mr Weir also said that whilst McIlwaine did not give evidence at her trial, she told police and Probation that prior to stabbing Mr Crossley she “went through a process of thinking about her options”.
The prosecutor said: “On her account ... she considered taking her own life but decided against that and decided to kill him instead.”
He added that prior to the fatal knife attack, McIlwaine had taken her children and left Mr Crossley but “had returned to him”.
Defence barrister Eilis McDermott KC then addressed Mr Justice Kinney and said that during the period of separation between the couple, McIlwaine and her children had been residing in a Women’s Aid hostel.
Ms McDermott said that during the trial McIlwaine “didn’t challenge the core facts” but “ran the case exclusively on the basis of the loss of control defence”.
Saying it was wrong to regard the case as cold, pre-meditated murder, Ms McDermott said rather it occurred “in the context of domestic violence and coercive control perpetrated by Mr Crossley against the defendant. She did not want to kill him, she didn’t desire him to be dead at any point prior to the minutes before the fatal assault took place.”
Ms McDermott revealed that on the evening in question her client had considered taking her own life and that at the time she felt her only choice was “between suicide and homicide”.
The defence barrister added that her client has no criminal record, has “expressed genuine and sincere remorse ... and shown empathy for the family of the deceased” and that she “struggles to understand the circumstances of how she did this and why she did this”.
Ms McDermott said McIlwaine had been trapped in an “abusive relationship” and had lost control.
She said: “This offence is characterised by little or no planning. All of the evidence looked at fairly suggests this was an impulsive reaction to circumstances where the defendant became overwhelmed and lost control. The choice that appeared to her to be the only choice she could make was between suicide and homicide.”
Ms McDermott added: “The defendant killed her partner as the result of a long and undisputed history of violence and coercive control which included two incidents of non-fatal strangulation.”
The barrister said psychiatric reports had stated McIlwaine had been “psychologically enmeshed” with Mr Crossley and unable to separate.
After listening to both submissions, Mr Justice Kinney said he wanted time to reflect on what he had heard and said he would pass sentence at a later date.
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