19 year old man from Liverpool jailed for life for murder of his girlfiend

A man has today, Friday 21 July, been sentenced for life in custody to serve a minimum of 17 years for murdering 20-year-old Courtney Boorne just before Christmas in Kirkby last year.

Following an eight-day trial at Liverpool Crown Court, the jury found Liam Cain, 19 years, of Skipton Road, Anfield guilty for murdering 20-year-old Courtney Boorne.

He has been jailed for life to serve a minimum of 17 years for her murder.

During the trial the court heard that on the evening of Friday 23 December 2022, police received a report of a disturbance inside a property on Quarry Green in Northwood.

20-year-old Courtney was taken to hospital but despite the efforts of emergency workers, she was sadly pronounced deceased.

A post-mortem recorded her death by mechanical asphyxiation by strangulation or suffocation.

Detectives charged Cain on Christmas Day (25 December) with her murder.

Courtney’s mum Cheryl Boorne said: “I now live day-to-day and do not stop, so I don’t have to think of what happened to her. I always have people around me as I don’t want to be on my own and it keeps my mind occupied.

“My family have been a great support and keeping me busy so that I can carry on. I have no choice as my children need their mum, they have suffered enough with their sister, who they loved so much, taken away from them.

“Courtney has six siblings and the three youngest siblings have been receiving counselling due to them struggling to understand why she is not coming home.

“One of her siblings has stopped going to school and is struggling with his emotions with Courtney not being here.

“My other child suffers from nightmares but doesn’t understand that Courtney won’t be home. Another one now has angry outbursts and gets upset easily. Then my youngest child is too young to understand and ask when she is coming back and to bring his birthday present. How do a tell a six-year-old child that he will never see his sister again?

“Liam has destroyed our lives as he has taken Courtney away from us. Courtney was the heart and soul of this family and was precious to us all. I miss hearing her voice, I miss her singing in the kitchen trying to sing the high notes. I miss our phone calls and hearing her laugh. I miss our days out and seeing her play with her younger siblings. I am trying to hold my family together. Courtney will never be forgotten.”

Following the sentencing, Detective Inspector Laura Lamping said: “Courtney was only 20-years-old and had her whole life ahead of her, this was cruelly cut short.

“The devasting impact Courtney’s murder has had on the family has been insurmountable, and for them having to sit through the trial has been incredible traumatic. But they have remained composed and shown dignity while having to listen to the horrific event that night.

“Throughout the trial Cain denied murdering her, claiming he acted in self-defence. However, with the strong evidence against him the jury found this to be untrue and found him guilty.

“Courtney had sustained a terrifying ordeal on the night of her murder. During the investigation Courtney’s family and friends had told us that she wanted to end the relationship with Cain and move on in her life.

“Courtney was a really hard-working girl – she juggled three jobs to make a living. On the day of her murder, she was up at 6am and at work to one of her jobs as a carer. The other two jobs she died were hairdressing and as a housekeeper.

“Her senseless murder has been really difficult for the family. She was killed the day before Christmas Eve, which for any family is an awful time when she should have been enjoying the festive period with her family and friends.

“Nothing will bring Courtney back to her family, and no sentence can change what Cain did to her but I hope some they have some comfort in knowing that he has been brought to justice and paying for his crime.”

Det Insp Lamping added: “No one should be a victim of domestic abuse. And we at Merseyside Police continue to do everything we can to tackle any type of violence against women and girls.

“Our specialist team of officers will do everything in our power to support victims, target perpetrators and reduce violence by ensuring victims of domestic abuse feel believed and supported when they report offending to us.

“Domestic abuse is a complex issue and can take many forms. It can be psychological, financial, sexual, emotional and physical and we want to raise awareness of the support that is available to anyone who is or has experienced domestic abuse so that nobody else has to suffer in silence.

“We work closely with local domestic support organisations, local authorities, safeguarding teams and charities to ensure that services and ongoing support are available, including access to refuges.

“We have a number of specialist departments within the police to investigate these crimes but it’s important that we all work together to support survivors and collectively work to prevent these crimes occurring in the first place by raising awareness.”

Domestic abuse isn’t just physical – it can be emotional, sexual, financial or controlling behaviour. It can happen to anyone, regardless of gender. Some of the signs of domestic abuse, such as physical marks, may be easy to identify but others may be things you can easily explain away or overlook.

Often victims are either in a relationship with the perpetrator or have been historically, it can therefore be very hard for them to report what has been going on. They might still love their abuser, feel loyal to them, are protecting their children or are simply living in fear.

Merseyside Police is determined to break that cycle of abuse where perpetrators continue to commit crime after crime against their victim thinking that every time they do, they are less likely to get caught.

Please talk to us or the partners we work with if you are a victim of domestic abuse, so we can protect you or anyone that does come forward and take decisive action against abusers. Together we can help you overcome any cycle of domestic abuse.” Hear all the latest news from across Merseyside on the hour, every hour, on 96.7FM, DAB, at radiocity.co.uk, and on the Radio City app.