Woman ‘beaten to death by on-off partner’ had more than 100 injuries
A ‘frail and vulnerable’ woman suffered more than 100 injuries as she was beaten to death by her violent on-off partner over the course of several days, a court has heard.
Melissa Eastick, 36, was found dead at the home of Stephen Todd, 41, in Sunderland in October 2023.
Prosecutor Peter Glenser KC told jurors at Newcastle Crown Court her death was ‘neither quick nor easy’.
He said Todd called 999 shortly after 7am on October 17 saying he could not wake Melissa and she was not breathing.
When paramedics arrived, he was said to have told them: ‘She was alright yesterday.’
But Mr Glenser told jurors: ‘The prosecution say that, like a great deal of what he was to say over the days that followed, was a lie.
‘There was no way that Melissa Eastick was “alright yesterday”, the day before.
‘It very quickly became apparent that there was very extensive bruising and swelling to her body and face and that she was very cold to the touch.
‘When they examined her, it was obvious she was dead and her life was formally pronounced extinct at 7.14am.
‘It appears that her death was neither quick nor easy. She had sustained more than 100 injuries, probably nearer 123 in the time leading up to her death.
‘When she died, she was 36 years old. She was a frail and vulnerable individual.’
The prosecutor said there was ‘no recorded sightings of Melissa Eastick alive’ after she was seen with Todd on CCTV at Asda on October 2.
He said the ‘last proof of life’ was a sales call from Vodafone on October 6 – 11 days before her lifeless body was found.
When paramedics arrived at Todd’s flat on October 17, Melissa had facial bruising, fractured ribs, vertebrae, nose and jaw, cigarette burns to her torso and had a brain injury which would have rendered her unconscious for some days before her death, it was said.
Jurors heard some of the injuries would have been inflicted between four and seven days before her death whereas others were about 72 hours before.
Police trawled hundreds of hours of CCTV footage in the area around Todd’s home and although coverage was incomplete, no-one else was seen entering or leaving the flat, the court heard.
Mr Glenser said that meant if someone else had attacked Melissa, they would have ‘had to gain access to the flat on several occasions and, coincidentally, leave at exactly the times that the camera footage was lost’.
He said: ‘The prosecution say Miss Eastick was repeatedly assaulted over a period of some days and that these assaults took place in the defendant’s flat.
‘He, we say, is responsible for her death and he meant either to kill her or cause her really serious harm and she died as a result of that harm.’
The court heard Todd and Melissa had been partners ‘on and off’ since around 2018 and both had struggles with alcohol.
Mr Glenser said their relationship had been ‘turbulent to say the least’ and Melissa had spent time living in a homeless shelter but it appeared she was staying with Todd from around last August.
Todd denies murder.
He told police Melissa had arrived at his home a few days before her death and was already ‘black and blue’ but denied responsibility for any of her injuries.
His trial continues.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.