Claire Holland's family beg 'monster' who murdered her to reveal where her body is

  • Claire Holland's family speak to ITV News

The family of Claire Holland described her killer as "worse than a monster" before making a plea for him to tell them what happened to her.

Darren Osment, a chef, has been convicted of murdering the mother-of-four in June 2012.

Despite intimating that he had killed Claire and thrown her body in "a docks" – Osment has never said how he had killed her, where he did it, or where Claire’s remains are now.

"It just goes to show what sort of person he is, really. We need that closure. And he could give us that closure. But he's choosing not to. So that's him having some control over Claire because we have no resting place for her," said Claire’s sister Sarah Holland.

"We have nowhere where we can go to say our goodbyes. We've got nothing. He's taken all that from us, not only from Claire, but from us as well. And it is really hurtful."

Darren Osment has been convicted of murder. Credit: Avon and Somerset police

Claire vanished on a night out and her case was treated as a missing person’s inquiry until 2019, when Osment made a drunk confession to police – which he would later retract.

Claire had just been starting to rebuild her life at the time Osment killed her. She was furnishing her new flat and was starting to have more contact with her children, who were in care.

Sarah said: "She's my sister. She meant the world to me. We did normal sister things. She was stealing my clothes, and we were going for coffee.

"It was lovely. And I've had to carry around the guilt with me for 11 years that if I would have taken her out with me when she said, 'can I come?'.

"And I would have said, yes, come. She wouldn't have met Darren that night. She might still be here. And I've had to carry that with me."

Claire’s mother, Jackie Vaughan told ITV News: "I thought maybe one day she might just turn up. But in the back of my mind, I also thought were never going to see her again. But there was always that little bit of hope. I still look for her when I go out."

Osment was recorded making 16 ‘confessions’ to a covert officer. He rarely used her name, instead referring to her in abusive terms.

"It makes me feel sick," said Sarah Holland. "In the way that Darren spoke about my sister and the lack of respect he had for her and women in general, it just makes my stomach turn."