Patchway man guilty of Claire Holland murder appealing against sentence
Darren Osment is serving life in prison for the murder of his former partner, who's body has never been found
Last updated 29th Apr 2024
A Bristol man currently serving a life sentence for the murder of his former partner is attempting to appeal against his conviction.
Darren Osment from Patchway in South Gloucestershire, was found guilty in December 2023 of killing Claire Holland, who vanished in 2012 and has never been found.
A jury at Bristol Crown Court found him responsible based on confessions Osment had made to several different people including an undercover police officer in the years since.
However, once arrested Osment always denied having anything to do with Claire's disappearance and he held up a sign in the dock reading "innocent" after the jury delivered its verdict.
A spokesperson for the Judicial Office has confirmed to Greatest Hits Radio that an appeal against conviction has been lodged by Osment's legal team.
A potential hearing date could be confirmed in the next month or so.
WATCH: Our video report from the time Osment was found guilty
The case
During the trial, which started on 12 October 2023, we heard that at the time of Claire's disappearance she and Osment were separated, having previously had a relationship during which they had a child together.
The court heard the pair met in 2008 when they worked together in a cafe, with their child born in 2010.
The pair were both said to be heavy drinkers with Claire having drunk throughout the pregnancy, which was a source of tension.
When their child was a few weeks old, police were called to the home they shared in Bradley Stoke following allegations of alcohol-fuelled domestic violence.
Shortly afterwards, the child was placed in foster care.
Osment was said to have blamed Claire for their child being taken away and a few weeks before her disappearance, the child went to live with Claire's aunt outside of Bristol.
On the day she vanished Claire and Osment had exchanged phone calls, with Claire telling people in the pub she had been at, that she was going to meet him when she left.
During the trial Osment claimed such a meeting never happened.
The trial
During proceedings the court heard Osment had confessed, either to being involved in Claire's death or to killing her himself, six times to a mix of friends, acquaintances and even the police.
He was first arrested in Exeter in 2019 where he was then living, after dialling 999 in the early hours of 28 July and telling the call handler, "it's murder".
"You've committed murder?" The call handler asked.
"I haven't personally," Osment said.
"I was involved in one, sort of yeah."
During the call, which was played to the court in full, Osment also said he was "trying to confess to something", that his son's mother "is dead" and that "I'm basically handing myself in".
Shortly afterwards, when approached by officers with bodyworn cameras, he told them he had Claire killed, that he knew what he did was wrong and "I can't take it anymore."
However, once arrested, in questioning he then denied what he had said was true.
Explaining his actions to a mental health assessor in custody, he said he had been kicked out of his home by his then partner and had nowhere to go.
If he said he was involved in a murder, he explained, he guaranteed the police would arrest him, therefore giving him a bed for the night.
You can read more about the case including his other confessions via this link.