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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

More sickening injustice - wife killer

21 replies

StuffezLaBouche · 05/01/2013 15:20

Have c and p'd in case people don't want to link to DM. Sorry it's so epic. HOW can this wife-killer be back in their home with their children after 3 years in jail?! It's like there's an ongoing acceptance that women who have affairs somehow deserve to be killed, and it's "understandable" that men react as they do. Say nothing of the fact he was having an affair himself. So angry!

Article:
ust four years after he killed his wife in a jealous rage, a millionaire banker is out of jail and back living with their two children at the family home where he strangled her.
Neil Ellerbeck, 49, has moved into the smart suburban house where he took his wife Kate's life after she asked for a divorce.
Mr Ellerbeck, who earned £170,000 as HSBC's global chief of investment, feared losing his two children, £650,000 home and £1.3million fortune in the break-up.
He lashed out after bugging her phone calls and reading her texts, discovering she had been having an affair with her son's tennis coach as well as having 'close friendships' with a childhood sweetheart and a chef at the Ritz.
She received 43 separate injuries in the attack in November 2008, around 18 of which were on her face.
After his furious assault, Ellerbeck collected their ten-year-old daughter from a school entrance exam.
He later insisted his 46-year-old wife had been alive when he left her.
During his Old Bailey trial three years ago, it emerged he had been having an affair himself during the troubled 14-year marriage.
He was acquitted of murder but jailed for eight years for manslaughter after a jury accepted he did not intend to kill his wife.
Time spent in custody awaiting trial and his good behaviour means he served a total of four years behind bars.

He moved back into the family home in Enfield, North London, after his release last month.
He has been seen moving flat-pack furniture into the property, now believed to be worth around £800,000, which he shares with his son, 17, and daughter, 14.
Yesterday, he said: 'It's early days. I'm just trying to get settled back with the children.

'It's too early to say whether we will stay here. 'We might move on but I don't know yet.' Some of his neighbours were shocked to hear he had returned to the family home.
'One, who did not want to be named, said: 'It's quite scary. I can't believe he's back living with the children.
'When you hear about what he did, Its pretty worrying to know he is living here.' Before the killing, Mr Ellerbeck, described by police as a jealous and possessive man, was having a long relationship with a former colleague. But then he spied on his wife and found out she had been having an affair with tennis coach Pat McAdam.

The court was told he had bugged her phone calls and kept 127 hours of recordings. Mrs Ellerbeck's sister, estate agent Sue Reed, and Mr McAdam, both objected to Mr Ellerbeck moving back to Enfield. A close friend of Mrs Reed said: 'Sue still has great affection for Mrs Ellerbeck's children.
She looked after them for the best part of a year when Neil was arrested and remanded in custody. Sue wants to remain on good terms and would never speak out about what happened.
'But she is horrified that Neil has moved back to the home where he killed Kate and shows no signs of wanting to move. 'More baffling to her is why Neil would want to move back to the house where his wife died in a violent struggle with him and want to carry on raising the children there as if nothing had happened. It is cold and bizarre.'

Mr McAdam, 50, last night hit out at the legal system that has allowed Mr Ellerbeck to begin rebuilding his life after just four years behind bars, adding: 'He destroyed Kate's life, left two children without a mother and caused untold anguish to Kate's sister, family and myself.
'Yet when I asked victim liaison questions about his release, I kept being told the probation service was trying to make his life as "normal as possible" now that he is out.
I had hoped he would not be allowed back to the home where Kate died.' Mr McAdam has been campaigning to change the law to make it harder for people sentenced for serious crimes to be released early.
He said: 'Because he's served half of his sentence, he has no need to wear an electronic tag, or report regularly to police, all apparently because of this desire to let him lead a normal life.
'I will never be able to lead a normal life again and nor will other people involved in this case who knew and loved Kate.'

OP posts:
KRITIQ · 05/01/2013 15:34

I have no words. I think cases like this are quite common Burberry don't always hear about them. Men who kill partners are mostly convicted of manslaughter, not murder. Sentences are lighter and they are usually released early because they behave well in prison and aren't seen as a danger to the public (only their partner, who's dead so no longer an issue.

EmilyMurphyLegallyAPerson · 05/01/2013 15:39

oh, dear God. I genuinely don't know what to say.:(

How can he possibly be judged a fit parent?

StuffezLaBouche · 05/01/2013 15:42

But what I don't get is that she had 43 injuries - NOT what you'd expect in a sudden lashing out of rage, but more a calculated and psychotic "punishment". If he's capable of doing it to this poor woman, you cannot possibly ever say he's no longer a danger to the public. What if he gets into a new relationship and the woman wants to leave him or is unfaithful? Will he do the same again? If not, it shoes he CAN control himself but just chose not to.

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runningforthebusinheels · 05/01/2013 16:00

It's truly shocking how someone inflicting that level of injury on someone, resulting in their death, only serves 4 years and then gets to resume his life just as it was before. Sadly, men who kill their partners in a 'jealous rage' do seem to get off lightly. The victim isn't around to give their version of events and often a man is afforded extra sympathy by judges/juries in cases of sexual jealousy can (apparently) constitute provocation. Helena Kennedy writes extensively on the subject in 'Eve Was Framed.'

I'm wondering about the children's opinions in this? When I was 14 I'm not sure I'd have been happy about living with Daddy if he had killed Mummy.

MrsMiniversCharlady · 05/01/2013 16:05

WTF is wrong with our legal system and our society that he should get 4 measly fucking years for taking his wife's life?! WHY do juries behave in a more sympathetic way towards men who kill their wives rather than LESS sympathetically, which would seem more logical to me? Confused

Deeply saddening and depressing.

Adversecamber · 05/01/2013 16:06

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Sunnywithshowers · 05/01/2013 16:08

It's absolutely revolting.

mcmooncup · 05/01/2013 16:10

I felt sick reading that article.
Not once is he described as an abuser.

edam · 05/01/2013 16:12

Good grief. It's not only horrific that such a cruel, dangerous man has been let out, but that he's been allowed to have custody of the children... unbelievable.

Ok, the 17yo is old enough to decide for himself (God only knows what is going on in his head) but the 14yo should not be in his 'care' especially as she is a girl, the same gender as his victim, and this is clearly a crime that is based on hatred of women. Racist crimes are rightly taken seriously, why is misogyny not treated with the same level of concern? His core belief is that women are possessions, what the hell is this going to do to his daughter?

StuffezLaBouche · 05/01/2013 16:14

Nope. He's a man who's served his time and deserved to re-build his life.

While his wife rots in the ground.

This bloody world! :(

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RandomMess · 05/01/2013 16:15

Sad Angry

KristinaM · 05/01/2013 16:15

This is just awful!

And these poor children- aftre losing their mother, their father being in jail , now they have to live with him and play happy families in a " normal life".

Booyhoo · 05/01/2013 16:16

how on earth is strangling someone not interpretted as intending to kill them?

this is just disgusting. the whole lot of it.

those poor children.

spudmurphy · 05/01/2013 16:17

What is wrong with the people in authority who have the power to change things- politicians, judges, senior prison service officials ? Don't they have loved female members in their families ? Are they too lily livered ? David Cameron I'm looking at you. For crying out loud do something!!! A 15 year old Pakistani girl (Malala Yousafzai) had the guts to speak out when she saw injustice.
What message does it send out releasing a murderer early ? The poor children..... he is capable of that.

Kveta · 05/01/2013 21:17

how bloody horrible :(

FestiviaBlueberry · 06/01/2013 00:22

What can we do about this?

It's obscene. It really shows how much women's lives are worth.

This is terrible child abuse, to force them to live with this murderer of their mother. Horrific.

Darkesteyes · 06/01/2013 00:32

Im bloody speechless. I dont know what to say. Its horrific. What is wrong with the authorities FGS. Shows what they think women are worth. Those poor children having to live with him after he did that and in the place where it happened.

edam · 06/01/2013 13:02

I don't know what we can do about this specific case, but in general we could support groups such as the End Violence Against Women coalition (members include Refuge, Women's Aid and the WI). And write to our MPs/the attorney general/sign petitions every time a violent man gets away with killing his wife or partner.

LittleWhiteWolf · 06/01/2013 18:26

I'm very shocked at this. I have worked in adult male prisons and am quite used to inmates serving life for the murder of their partners. I cannot believe that he got sent down on manslaughter charges, given the level of stalker behaviour, the sheer volume of injuries sustained by the victim (and where, on her face) and his actions after the murder. I'm shocked that the safe guarding children angle has been seemingly ignored; how has he been allowed to live with them again?

There must be more to this story than has been reported. At least, I bloody hope so.

TalkativeJim · 06/01/2013 18:33

He should never see those children again, and I hope to God they make the decision to reject him utterly when they are older.

I hope he rots in hell.

Narked · 06/01/2013 18:33

I saw that. The jury should be ashamed of themselves.

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