‘Sadistic murderer’ Ross McCullam sentenced to life in prison for killing Megan Newborough

"Megan was the glue that held us together" says brother after sentencing

A "porn-obsessed monster" who murdered his 23-year-old work colleague has been sentenced to life in prison and ordered to serve a minimum of 23 years behind bars.

Ross McCullam, 30, strangled Megan Newborough, before cutting her throat and dumping her body in a Leicestershire country lane on Friday 6th August 2021. He had invited her over to his home for the evening.

McCullam, who initially admitted manslaughter, claimed he could not be guilty of murdering 23-year-old Miss Newborough because he acted after a loss of control.

He sought to blame Miss Newborough, claiming he went into a "a volcano of rage" set off by undiagnosed PTSD caused by unreported childhood sexual abuse.

However a jury disagreed, and the former lab worker was sentenced at Leicester Crown Court today after being convicted of Miss Newborough's murder on Monday.

Speaking outside the court, Megan's brother John described her as "the glue that held us together."

"Our lives have been torn apart through this loss. I know how difficult it's been for my parents and sister to sit in court every day listening to the web of lies spun by someone Megan not only knew, but whom she trusted."

"Someone who clearly had no love for her at all."

"We're the ones now serving a life sentence."

In sentencing remarks, Judge Philip Head described the killing as a “truly dreadful” crime.

He said of “stellar” Miss Newborough, “It was her dreadful misfortune to become involved in a relationship with you.”

“I regard you cutting her throat as a very substantial aggravating factor.”

"I hope she haunts you."

During her victim impact statement Miss Newborough’s older sister Claire Newborough, addressing a weeping McCullam in the dock, told him: “I hope she haunts you.”

She added that by taking the case to trial, he had put the family through “seven weeks of hell”, despite him having launched an “horrific and barbaric” attack on her sibling.

Although the judge did not sentence McCullam on the grounds he had tried to cut off Miss Newborough’s head, her family were sure it is what her co-worker had intended, with seven separate injuries to her neck.

Miss Newborough’s sibling added: “We fully believe the defendant tried to decapitate Megan, this brutalisation of my sister’s body is something we will never be able to come to terms with.”

Megan's father, Anthony Newborough, wept in a court victim impact statement as he said the family had lost their “beautiful treasured daughter Megan, in such horrific circumstances”.

He added: “We are a large and close family who have been ripped apart by one evil human being.”

“It is like a horror film, but it is a true story, Megan’s story, our story,” he said.

“These events have caused us so much pain and anguish we struggle that Megan, in her last moments, would have been so frightened.

“She was loved by so many and touched so many lives for those she met and left a great gaping hole that can never be filled.

“She was our princess and the defendant with his evil hands, his strength, together with his evil mind has taken her away from us forever.”