'Evil' couple who dragged the body of their dead friend 'face-down through the ... trends now
An 'evil' couple who dragged their friend's dead body 'face-down through the mud' before dumping it near a primary school have been jailed.
Robert Halliwell, 48, and Melanie Bullen, 53, had been taking drugs alongside Kerry Newman when they woke up to find Ms Newman, 40, had died.
They both 'bundled' her into Halliwell's car, drove half a mile away and dragged her body to an alleyway in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, on July 17 this year.
She was discovered face-down, partially clothed, by members of the public on New Barn Lane, near Ashfield Valley Primary School and Sandbrook Retail Park.
Following a post mortem examination, Ms Newman's cause of death was said to be aspiration pneumonia due to drug toxicity. Police are no longer treating her death as suspicious.
Robert Halliwell, 48, and Melanie Bullen, 53, had been taking drugs alongside Kerry Newman (pictured) when they woke up to find Ms Newman, 40, had died
Halliwell and Bullen (pictured) both accepted perverting the course of justice and claimed that they 'panicked' when they found that Ms Newman had died. Today, the pair were jailed for two years
In the early hours of July 17 this year, they were captured leaving Halliwell's (pictured) flat on the Freehold estate in Rochdale
Halliwell and Bullen both accepted perverting the course of justice and claimed that they 'panicked' when they found that Ms Newman had died. Today, the pair were jailed for two years.
Nicholas Clarke, prosecuting, told Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court heard that after recovering various CCTV footage, police were able to identify the defendants and trace them back to Halliwell's flat.
In the early hours of July 17 this year, they were captured leaving Halliwell's flat on the Freehold estate in Rochdale.
The footage showed them driving in Halliwell's car, which was registered to the same address, and arriving near Sandbrook Retail Park, before leaving Ms Newman's body at around 2am.
Mr Clarke said: 'They then returned to the flat and were seen to dispose of several bin bags, before returning to the body and searching for something near the body. Police noted they were wearing different clothing when coming back to the body.'
Ms Newman's body was discovered at around 4:50am that same morning by a man walking home from PureGym, located in the retail park.
He said he 'wasn't sure if it was a person or a mannequin' but had the 'good sense' to flag a delivery driver who was going into the school, and both went to check.
Mr Clarke said: 'Kerry Newman was positioned face down on the grass verge bordering the railing of the school. Her body was clothed but her trousers were lowered down. The defendants were later seen to cover her lower body with a jumper.'
The footage showed them driving in Halliwell's car, which was registered to the same address, and arriving near Sandbrook Retail Park, before leaving Ms Newman's body at around 2am. Pictured: Police searching an alleyway off New Barn Lane, Rochdale
Ms Newman's body was discovered at around 4:50am that same morning by a man walking home from PureGym, located in the retail park
The men called 999, and the operator asked them to turn Ms Newman's body over in order to perform CPR. However, when the delivery driver touched her body, he said she was so cold he 'knew she was dead'.
After identifying Halliwell and Bullen through CCTV and the registration on Halliwell's car, they were both arrested, initially on suspicion of murder.
Both tried to take drugs after the police caution was read to them, before Bullen told officers: 'She OD'd, mate', adding that she 'tried to help her'.
Bullen later gave a prepared statement saying she had known Ms Newman for 10 years, and said both her and Halliwell were regular drug users. She also said that Ms Newman had taken drugs, including heroin, the night before her death.
Bullen claimed that she had fallen asleep and said Ms Newman was dead when she woke up.
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