Ricardo Morrison jailed for life for murder of teen model Amy
Birmingham man Ricardo Morrison, 22, has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 24 years at Manchester Crown Court after being found guilty of the murder of his teenage girlfriend, model Amy Leigh Barnes.
Morrison used a six-inch kitchen knife to attack Miss Barnes, 19, leaving her dying in a pool of blood at the house they shared in Farnworth, near Bolton, Lancashire.
His mother, Melda Wilks, 50, a policewoman for almost 30 years, was cleared by the jury of assisting an offender.
She allowed him to wash his bloodstained clothes after he fled Bolton to the family home in Rubery, Birmingham, hours after the attack on November 8 last year. She claimed she believed her son when he told her he had not harmed Miss Barnes.
"I was not thinking as a police officer but as a mother," she said.
Morrison was convicted following an 11-day trial at Manchester Crown Court. His mother was cleared 30 minutes later.
The jury had been out for three hours and 19 minutes when they returned the guilty verdict.
Trial judge Mr Justice MacDuff warned the packed courtroom there was to be no reaction when the verdict was given.
Morrison, clutching a bible, bowed his head, put one hand to his face and appeared to begin weeping. His mother, sitting separated by a security guard between them, turned away in tears. Morrison slumped to his seat with his head down, held in his hands.
The victim's mother, Karyn Killiner, clutched the arm of her husband John, while Miss Barnes's father, Andrew Barnes, smiled while holding hands with his new partner Dawn at the back of the court.
Morrison's violent history of attacking his partners and other young women was revealed for the first time following his conviction
In chilling similarities to his fatal assault on model and actressMiss Barnes, Morrison repeatedly attacked an ex-girlfriend who was too scared to give evidence against him in his murder trial.
He twice bit her on the face and after one assault sent her a text saying: "I hope you die of cancer, just like your dad."
And less than a month before he stabbed Miss Barnes, 19, to death with a six-inch kitchen knife, he attacked five women, headbutting and punching victims in the face in a London nightclub.
Described in court as a "phoney and a bully", Morrison has four previous convictions for assault and one for harassment on his ex-girlfriend, aged 23, from Birmingham. He was never sentenced to custody and broke a restraining order.
The jury at Manchester Crown Court was not told of his violent past - or that he faced five charges of grievous bodily harm for the nightclub attack.
Mr Justice MacDuff ruled the details would prejudice a fair trial and Morrison faced overwhelming evidence of his guilt anyway.
Wilks collapsed to the floor after her son was found guilty. When the jury returned to court to clear her, Morrison did not return to the dock.
Wilks left the dock weeping and was helped from court by one of her legal team.
Earlier, after Morrison was found guilty and the jury had left the courtroom, he sat pulling his hair out with his hands. He stormed down the steps to the cells when security guards went to remove him from the dock.
Outside court, Miss Barnes's family hugged each other in tears.
Miss Barnes, who was privately educated, was studying fashion and drama and had modelled for Cosmopolitan and Nuts magazines and also appeared in Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks.
But her boyfriend was described as arrogant and controlling, subjecting her to terrifying abuse during their stormy nine-month relationship.
They first met each other through Facebook and he soon moved from Birmingham to Bolton to live with Miss Barnes and her mother and stepfather, Karyn and John Killiner.
But his true nature was revealed while her parents were on holiday. Morrison held a knife to her throat, the police were called and he ran into the street with the blade.
