A convicted rapist has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 33 years for murdering a 21-year-old barmaid in a sadistic and sexually motivated attack. Michael Doherty, 38, left Courtney Angus with 76 injuries before taking indecent images of her and 'sexually humiliating her in every way he could imagine'.
A convicted rapist who murdered a young barmaid in a sadistic and sexually motivated attack after she told him she did not want a relationship prowled the streets with a knife before confessing his crime.
Michael Doherty, 38, left Courtney Angus, 21, with 76 injuries before taking indecent images of her and sexually humiliating her in every way he could imagine at his home in Batley, West Yorkshire, in July last year. He then wandered the nearby streets waving a large knife and entered an Asda supermarket, threatening to stab staff. As he was being arrested, he told officers: I've got a dead body in my house.
Doherty, who changed his name from Michael Moore in 2018, has a history of violence towards women who reject him, with convictions for raping a stranger on the way home from a nightclub and torching a former partner's car. He was today sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 33 years.
Leeds Crown Court heard Ms Angus had moved into his house days before her death in July last year, but was not his partner and was clear that she did not want a relationship. Prosecutor Craig Hassall said Doherty made it clear he liked her, and texted her threatening to kill himself on the day of the murder.
Michael Doherty, 38, murdered 21-year-old Courtney Angus before taking to the streets of Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, while brandishing a knife Courtney Angus's family released an image of the 21-year-old following her death and described her as a lover of music, socialising and having fun He told her: I'm fed up of this life, fed up of being nice, and to be honest it's not just you, I can't take much more of life. Doherty added: I do find you very attractive, but that doesn't mean I want a relationship.
I do wish I wouldn't have told you how I felt. Ms Angus responded: It's not my fault Mikey, I don't want a relationship, I told you this from the start, I haven't led you on. I've been a good friend to you. Mr Hassall said that during the evening of July 25, the two were at Doherty's house in Norfolk Street in Batley, West Yorkshire.
He told the court the evidence was that shortly before her death, Courtney had rejected the offender's advances towards some sort of intimate relationship between the two of them. The court heard that Doherty sexually attacked Ms Angus during the drug-fuelled assault, cut off parts of her body and callously left them on his mantelpiece. A pathologist found that the cause of her death was pressure on the neck, from strangling, coupled with head injuries from blunt force trauma.
The court heard that after taking indecent images of Courtney on his phone, Doherty sent a message to a friend saying: I've killed someone, ring me please. The next morning Doherty went on a stealing spree in Batley and nearby Dewsbury, taking three baguettes from Greggs and dropping his phone in a tussle with staff after trying to shoplift from Aldi.
At 9.15pm he was followed out of an Asda store in Dewsbury by staff when he left without paying, and produced a large knife before saying: I'll stab you mate, I'll stab you.
Michael Doherty, also known as Michael Moore, pleaded guilty to murder, theft and three counts of threatening a person with a blade When police found him in Dewsbury town centre he was brandishing the weapon and told officers he had committed a murder Police traced Doherty after being called to reports of a man who had robbed a local Asda and threatened staff with a knife When police found him in Dewsbury town centre he was brandishing the weapon and threatened to harm them, before attempting to enter a nearby pub.
He was subdued by officers with Tasers and told police: Get armed response and SIO to me now because I've got murder, I've got a dead body in my house. Police then rushed to Doherty's address, where they found Ms Angus deceased. At sentencing, a victim impact statement from Ms Angus's mother, Diane Angus, was read to the court which said: Losing my daughter has left a space in my heart that nothing can fill.
I carry her with me in every thought, every breath, every moment. I wish I could hold her again. I grieve not only for her but for the life that was taken from us. A statement from Chloe Angus on behalf of all her sisters said that seeing Courtney in a mortuary will never leave our minds.
It read: How could someone hurt a young, vulnerable woman in the way that he did? Courtney had her whole life ahead of her, she had just turned 21. She was loved deeply by everyone around her. Courtney was the life and soul of every room she walked into.
The court heard Doherty had 23 previous convictions, including one for raping a woman he did not know in 2013 while pretending to walk her home from a nightclub. He was jailed for five years, and entered a brief relationship with another woman after he was released, but torched her car when she ended thing
Michael Doherty Courtney Angus Murder Rape Theft Threatening Behaviour
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