The Torture and Murder of Kelly Anne Bates
I stumbled across the story of Kelly
Anne Bates while browsing through my Facebook feed. Due to my
interest in true crime, I often have stories pop up about a murder or
crime I had not heard of before. After reading through the article,
I was shocked at the horrible details of what happened to this
beautiful young woman and delved further into the story, surprised
and saddened that I had never heard of it before.
Her mother recalled several incidents
leading up to her announcement about her boyfriend, incidents that
made Mrs. Bates question what was really going on in her daughters
life. The first, when she was 15, was when she stayed out all night,
lying to her parents about where she had been. Later, when her
mother noticed bruises on her daughter, she was told that a gang of
girls had jumped Kelly and that there was nothing to worry about.
Then, when she turned 16, she stated that she had a boyfriend and
that he was 32. Mrs. Bates was suspicious of both the man and his
age. However, there was not much she could do since Kelly was 16.
There were more incidents of Kelly
coming home with bruises and injuries. Her mother suspected that
James Smith might be abusing her daughter, but Kelly denied it. She
even tried phoning the police, but there was nothing they could do
without a statement from Kelly. So, in November of 1995, a
then-seventeen year old Kelly moved to Gorton, Manchester to live
with her boyfriend.
Now, James Smith was able to control
his young girlfriend even more, limiting her contact with her family
and making sure she never spoke to them without him being present.
Of course, her family was concerned and tried to convince her to
leave him. However, James Smith was always there and her family was
unable to truly speak to her regarding the situation.
Her mother began to notice that their
phone conversations were strange and that her daughter did not seem
like herself. In March, they received two cards, one for her
father's birthday and another for their anniversary. However, she
had not signed the card, raising their suspicions. This would be the
last thing they ever heard from their daughter.
On April 16, 1996, Smith walked into a
police station and said he had killed his girlfriend. He told the
officers that they had been fighting and she had swallowed water
while in the bath. Officers went to Smith's address and found the
young girl in the bedroom. It was clear that she had not
accidentally swallowed water, since the extent of her injuries were
numerous and horrific.
Although not all the details are known
of the last month or so of her life, the autopsy revealed that she
had been starved, beaten, tortured and finally, murdered by drowning.
There were over 150 injuries on her body which included: multiple
stab wounds, a partial scalping, scald wounds, mutilation to her
eyes, ears, nose, mouth and genitalia. Also, both her eyes had been
gouged out prior to her death. In addition, she had been tied up for
much of this time. Smith had sometimes used her own hair to tie her
to a radiator and chairs while also tying her up by the neck, as
indicated by ligature marks. The pathologist who examined her body,
William Lawler, stated, “In my career, I have examined almost 600
victims of homicide but I have never come across injuries so
extensive”.
At his trial, Smith denied he had
murdered Kelly Anne Bates. However, the jury did not buy his story
and found him guilty after one hour of deliberations. He was
sentenced to life in prison, with no possibility for parole until he
had served at least twenty years. Due to the horrific nature of the
crime, the jury was offered professional counseling.
This case is incredibly heart-breaking.
Kelly was a young girl, on the verge of starting her life. She had
so much going for her and a bright future that was snatched from her
by a sadistic man. What she endured in her last month was truly
awful and I cannot imagine how scared and alone she must have felt.
Although, it is cold comfort, at least the man who took her from this
world is rotting in prison, where hopefully he stays for the rest of
his life. No one who commits these acts should ever be allowed to
roam the streets again.
Sources/ Further Reading:
Murder of Kelly Anne Bates:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Kelly_Anne_Bates
Teen Girl Horrifically Tortured before
Her Murder:
http://www.independent.ie/world-news/teen-girl-horrifically-tortured-before-her-murder-26202114.html
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