In the hours after disposing of his victim’s body, the 30-year-old scoured the internet for pornography and researched serial killers, including Levi Bellfield, Soham killer Ian Huntley, and Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe.
A laboratory employee was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 23 years for strangling and slitting the throat of a coworker just weeks after the two began dating.
Ross McCullam, 30, and Megan Newborough, 23, dated for approximately a month before he murdered her last year.
He choked her and then slashed her throat with a carving knife, telling investigators that he did so “to ensure Megan was dead.”
McCullam abandoned Ms. Newborough’s body near a country path in Leicestershire before leaving a voicemail on her phone declaring his love for her.
After a six-week trial, he was found guilty of her murder at Leicester Crown Court on Monday.
The verdict, according to Ms. Newborough’s family, has shattered their lives irreparably.
During the trial, the prosecutor, John Cammegh KC, described McCullam as a “sadistic killer” who acted with “ruthless” intent.
After his conviction, the police described McCullam as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” who would have “killed again.”
McCullam met Ms. Newborough while employed at a brick manufacturing company.
Ms. Newborough left her house in Nuneaton on the evening of August 6, 2012, informing her family she was meeting Mr. McCullam for a stroll.
She drove to the Coalville residence he shared with his parents. His parents were both absent.
Less than forty minutes after her arrival, he murdered her.
The prosecution heard that McCullam then engaged in a “series of purposeful activities meticulously plotted and performed to cover up Megan’s death.”
This includes sending her text messages, including one telling her she was incredible.
It was sent while he was placing her body in the passenger seat of her vehicle.
After driving away, he dumped her body over a stone wall close to the community of Woodhouse Eaves and discarded her phone in the woods.
McCullam then traveled to Loughborough, where he was captured on surveillance footage altering his attire.
He got a taxi home and returned before his parents’ arrival.
He called Ms. Newborough’s phone at 11.30 p.m. and left a voicemail assuring her he loved her.
McCullam had previously acknowledged manslaughter but denied murder, alleging that he acted out of “blind wrath” after recalling childhood sexual assault, which triggered a moment of post-traumatic stress disorder.
In the hours following the disposal of Ms. Newborough’s body, he researched pornographic material and serial killers on the internet.
Police discovered that he did online searches related to serial killers Levi Bellfield, Ian Huntley, and Peter Sutcliffe.
