William Marshall, 43, who killed his girlfriend NZ born Jennifer Edwards at her home in Kirkcaldy. Photo / Glascow Police
William Marshall, 43, who killed his girlfriend NZ born Jennifer Edwards at her home in Kirkcaldy. Photo / Glascow Police
The family of a Kiwi woman battered to death by her partner in Scotland before he watched football on television as her body lay nearby are outraged by his four-year prison sentence.
William Marshall attacked Jennifer Edwards at her home in Kirkaldy, Fife, in June last year and stole money from her bank account.
When he eventually phoned police days later, he claimed he had found the 45-year-old sports therapist already dead. He was originally charged with her murder but later pleaded guilty to culpable homicide at the High Court in Glasgow.
Last week Marshall was jailed for just four years. Edward's heartbroken family said the sentence could never compare to the life sentence the killer had imposed on them.
In a statement issued through the Crown Office, relatives of the victim - who had moved to Scotland from New Zealand - said they were devastated.
"The sentence passed to Marshall will never compare to the life sentence he has imposed on our family," the statement said. "However we would like to thank Police Scotland for their thorough investigation which led to this conviction and for the support received from the Victim Information and Advice team to get us through this nightmare.
"We hope the sentence will act as a deterrent to the cowards who abuse their partners and act as motivation to the women who are afraid for their lives; that they must seek help before they follow the same path as our Jen.
NZ born Jennifer Edwards was killed by her boyfriend William Marshall, 43 at her home in Kirkcaldy between 8-14 June 2015. Photo / Glascow Police
"Please do not be afraid any more. There is so much help available for you.
"It's now time for our family to close this chapter, to grieve and remember the good times we shared with Jen - a daughter, a mother, a sister and friend."
Friends in Scotland have paid tribute to the dead Kiwi woman.
Kelly Johnston, owner of The Wynd pub in Kirkaldy, said Edwards came from a wealthy family in New Zealand where her father had been in the police force. She had moved to the UK in 2000.
"She was a well known face around the town and she will be sorely missed."
In court, prosecutor Keith O'Mahony said a neighbour had spotted Marshall watching TV through a window on June 13, when Edwards would have been dead on the floor of her home.
"It was noted this coincided with the live broadcast of a well-publicised football game," O'Mahony told the court.
That was the date Scotland played Ireland in Dublin in a vital European Championship qualifier.
The BBC reported that the day after the match, Marshall phoned the police to say he had arrived home and Edwards "was not breathing".
A post mortem examination revealed she had been dead for between two and four days. She had "sustained a number of blunt force injuries" and had suffered bleeding on the brain.
