'I put the mask on every day after Megan's murder'

For Elaine Newborough, the past five years have meant learning how to get up each morning and "put the mask on and just carry on" to cover up missing her daughter every second.

Megan Newborough, 23, of Nuneaton, Warwickshire, was killed by her boyfriend, Ross McCullam, 30, who was sentenced to a minimum term of 23 years in prison in 2022.

Since her death, her parents have been working with the Killed Women group to campaign against a 10-year disparity in sentencing starting points for murders committed with weapons in the home and on the street.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) previously said it intended to close the gap, with the first part of a review of the law of homicide set to conclude.

Paul Prior, who was the prosecutor during the trial at Leicester Crown Court, said the framework was set out in Schedule 21 of the Sentencing Act 2020, which specifies three starting points.

"The first starting point is 15 years for murder, 25 years for murders where, for example, a defendant has taken a weapon to the scene, and 30 years for particularly sadistic crimes," he explained.

Prior explained the sentencing judge had to take all the factors in a case into account and then increase or reduce the sentence accordingly.

"The argument being made is that that gulf between 15 and 25 years as a starting point, is too great," he added.

Megan's body was dumped in the Leicestershire countryside after she was murdered by McCullam in his home in August 2021.

He admitted manslaughter but denied murder and was given a life sentence and told he would serve at least 23 years.

Anthony Newborough, Megan's father, told the BBC they were "hugely shocked by disparity" between sentences.

"Obviously, we weren't aware of it until we lost our daughter, but obviously she was murdered in the home using a knife. Strangled then was killed by a knife," he explained.

"Because it was in the home, the starting point was 15 years, and what we learned after, that if that murder with the knife had happened outside the home, the starting point would have been 25 years."

The pair have been working with Killed Women, which helps the families of women killed by men, to try and close the gap and get "these murderers locked away for a lot longer."

"Hopefully other families won't have to go through the pain and suffering, they'll go through pain and suffering, but at least they'll know that the murderers will be locked away for a lot longer," Anthony Newborough added.

Megan's story was recently featured in a Channel 4 documentary, 999 What Happened Next.

Five years on, the Newboroughs said their daughter was "very much missed" and the documentary was something they did to "keep her legacy alive and keep talking about her".

The pair also set up the Megan Newborough Foundation to support groups campaigning against violence against women as well as the charity Dogs Trust, as their daughter had a dog, Frank, who she "loved very much".

"It gives us a focus. It is very difficult," Elaine Newborough added.

"Every day you kind of get up, put the mask on and just carry on regardless basically. But it doesn't take away from the fact that you miss her every second of the day," she said.

"It's great that victims' families like ours and other agencies are able to give a voice to our side of the story.... to help influence or we hope influence the decision makers and the policymakers that make these decisions."

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