- By Charlotte Thomson
- Comments
- 31 Jul 2012 21:49
SHARON HOLLINSWORTH researched buying date-rape drug rohypnol on the internet – and exchanged texts about the murder method with son Christopher, 19.
A MUM yesterday admitted murdering her partner after conspiring with her children.
Andrew Oates was beaten to death in a hail of at least 20 hammer blows in his
own home.
own home.
Sharon Hollinsworth, 44, yesterday pleaded guilty to the murder and conspiracy.
She had researched buying date-rape drug rohypnol on the internet – and exchanged texts about the murder method with son Christopher, 19.
In texts, Christopher discussed the use of a firearm and a hammer and who would carry out his father’s murder.
One text stated that the family didn’t have “the time or money for a gun”.
Daughter Natalie, 22, used the internet to look up murder methods – including the use of a hammer – and ways of disposing of bodies.
All three had been charged with murder but changed their pleas on day two of a trial at the High Court in Aberdeen.
Natalie and Christopher both admitted conspiring to murder.
Andrew, 44, died in October 2010 at his home in Peterhead. He had been with Sharon Hollinsworth since 1992 but they never married.
Yesterday, advocate depute Kath Harper, prosecuting, told the court: “Andrew Oates was a reclusive man who suffered from depression. He suffered from anxiety and anger management issues.
“At 3:30am on October 24, the three accused arrived at Grampian Police headquarters and Sharon Hollinsworth told officers there she had killed her partner.
“She said she had hit the deceased on the head with a hammer because he went for her son.
“Sharon Hollinsworth told the police that it was her intention to bury the body in the back garden.
“She confessed that she had started to dig but couldn’t go through with it.”
Police found Andrew’s body under a duvet with cable ties on his wrists. Splatters of blood were visible on the upstairs landing wall and floor. The bloodstained hammer was still in the family home.
Sharon Hollinsworth gave a description of her life with her “violent” partner when she confessed the murder to police.
The Crown agreed Andrew had assaulted her in 1998.
Lord Doherty remanded all three Hollinsworths in custody and deferred sentence until August 28. After the hearing, Andrew’s sister Sheena said it had been a difficult time for the family, particularly because they had to wait 14 months to bury him because Christopher was named as next of kin.
Sheena said: “It has been hard, especially for our parents, who are in their 80s.”
Detective Chief Inspector Martin Dunn, who led the inquiry, described it as a “calculated and premeditated” murder.
He said: “This was a violent and sustained attack which was compounded by the great lengths those involved went to in the aftermath of Andrew’s death to conceal the killing and to escape justice.”
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