Whole life order for man who murdered his ex and her new partner in Huddersfield
Marcus Osborne killed Katie Higton and Steven Harnett
Last updated 1st Mar 2024
A man has been handed a whole life order for murdering his ex-partner and her new boyfriend in Huddersfield.
35-year-old Marcus Osborne forced his way into the house he once shared with Katie Higton on Harpe Inge, armed with a knife, while she was on a cinema date with Steven Harnett.
Leeds Crown Court heard Osborne lay in wait for Katie and launched a brutal attack on her as soon as she came through the door.
WARNING: This report contains some distressing details
Prosecutor Jonathan Sandiford KC said 27-year-old Katie, suffered 99 injuries during the fatal assault "against which she was effectively defenceless, although she put up a courageous struggle".
Osborne then used Katie's phone to pretend to be her and lure Steven, 25, to the house, and murdered him. He was left with 24 knife wounds, including mutilated genitals, the court heard.
Osborne then raped another woman, whom he had held captive in the house overnight, at knifepoint.
The court heard four children were in the house during the murders, which happened in the early hours of May 15 last year.
Mr Sandiford said: "The defendant committed a premeditated and brutal double murder motivated by sexual jealousy, a desire to exercise control over Katie Higton, an unwillingness to accept her decision to leave him and her freedom to form a relationship with another man."
Ex-boyfriend Marcus Osborne "coercive, controlling and physically abusive"
Katie had been in a relationship with Osborne for five years, but left him in early May last year after an assault on April 28 which was "the last straw".
She later told police the relationship had become "coercive, controlling and physically abusive" in the last two years and that she had been regularly assaulted, including one incident when he threw a cat at her, the court heard.
Osborne also has convictions for violent offences against two previous partners in 2011 and 2012, Mr Sandiford said.
Katie went to Huddersfield police station on May 10 to make a complaint about Osborne, and spoke to a member of police staff over the phone later that day. She was visited by an officer on May 11.
During phone calls to the police Katie said Osborne had told her "he would slit her throat if she said what he had done" and that "if she ever got a boyfriend he would kill them both".
On May 12 Osborne was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence offences and bailed with conditions not to go back to their home, but spied on her over the following days before taking a taxi to the house on the night of the murders.
The court heard he found out about the developing relationship between Katie and Steven by hacking into her Snapchat account.
"A monster of the worst kind"
A victim personal statement by her mother Nicola McAlister, read in court, said Osborne was "a monster of the worst kind".
Ms McAlister wrote: "I no longer live, I simply exist in a tortuous world without my baby.
"I am tormented every second of every day that I draw breath."
Osborne has previously pleaded guilty to two counts of murder, and the false imprisonment and rape of the other woman in the house.
He did not react to the details of the offences during the first day of his sentencing hearing on Thursday. He repeatedly looked towards the public gallery, where members of Steven's family could be heard sobbing.
Marcus Osborne was quickly put forward as the suspect for both murders but handed himself in later on Monday while arrest enquiries were ongoing to locate him.
Detective Superintendent Alan Weekes who led the investigation into Osborne’s offending, said: “It is hard to understand the behaviour of anyone who acted as Osborne did in bringing horror to a family home. Our thoughts are with those who have been impacted by his dreadful crimes.
“The absolutely brutal offences committed by Marcus Osborne during the morning of May 15 are some of the worst myself and other experienced homicide detectives have investigated in our careers.
“Osborne’s attacks on his victims were savage but also chillingly calculated in their execution. His behaviour can only be described as truly monstrous.
“The lengthy sentence handed down to Osborne today is justice served and will protect the public from this dangerous individual.”
In a statement, Katie’s family described the impact of her loss:
They said: “Katie was a shining, beautiful and deeply caring soul whose presence lit up any room from the moment she entered it.
“She was a much-loved mother, daughter, niece, granddaughter and sister and her loss has left a huge, gaping hole in the lives of her family and friends. We all continue to suffer from having her so brutally taken from us.
“As a family we will all miss her laughter, her fun and jokes and we will never again have the joy of loving messages from her at special times or of spending precious moments with her.
“There is much we could say about the monster who took Katie from us. A man, if he can be called that, whose name does not deserve to even be mentioned within the same breath as hers.
"His sentencing today will not change the life sentence of loss he has inflicted upon us all. We want to thank all those who have supported us through such a horrific time.
“No family should have to endure what we have suffered, but the kind words have helped as we strive to remember the woman who was our world, and who touched the worlds of so many around her.
“We also wish to thank the investigation team at West Yorkshire Police who have supported our family through this unimaginable time and now ask that our privacy is respected.”