Hannah Pearson, 16, and James Morton, 24, who was a friend of her boyfriend, met for the first time on July 23rd last year. It was also the day when he ended up killing her.
Late July, Morton was sentenced and found guilty of killing the 16-year-old girl.
It started with Hannah going with James to his parents, in Newark, England. There he offered her wine, spirits and beer. Then he put her to bed – where she ended up being strangled to death. Morton claimed during the trial that it was Hannah who took the initiative and started kissing him, something that the judge could not disprove.
The judge pointed out that Hannah did not consent to being strangled to death – because, as we all know, consent is always a must, not only when engaging in ordinary sexual activities, but also when practicing BDSM.
According to the judge, James Morton began to strangle Hannah in bed without warning and consent. Hannah was later found dead in the bedroom.
Morton had an interest in BDSM and had tested it with his former girlfriend. According to the testimony, Morton liked to take on the dominant role, writes the BBC. The judge pointed out when the sentence was given that the inspiration probably came from porn movies with similar elements that Morton had watched just before Hannah’s death.
Morton’s lawyer insisted that he had “followed his sexual desire without thinking about the consequences”. Morton called an ambulance when he realized that Hannah was dead – but he waited for 20 minutes before doing so. He wanted to take care of his own “well-being” before calling according to his own testimony.
Hannah’s mother, Dawn Pearson, told the court about the family’s grief.
– Parents should not have to bury their own child, a child who never got a chance to live its own life.
James Morton was sentenced in late July 2017 and was found guilty of manslaughter instead of murder. A sentence of 12 years in prison was given, writes the BBC.