Sarah Brierley murder: Love letter led police to murderer who killed Yorkshire woman who was friends with him and his partner

David Scott, 39, wrote to partner Zoe Clark: “I can do 20 years (in prison) if I know you’re there at the end” after he had killed Sarah Brierley, 49, at the Woodhouse home all three had at one point shared.

Today Scott has been sentenced to 29 years in jail for Sarah’s murder, while his girlfriend Clark, 39, was cleared of involvement in Sarah’s death but found guilty of stealing from her. She was jailed for 42 weeks.

The Sheffield Crown Court jury, who took three and a half hours to reach a verdict, heard how earlier this year on 20 February, Sarah’s body was found in her flat on Skelton Close.

After officers gained entry, it was clear that Sarah had suffered a distressing end to her life at the hands of someone she knew and trusted.

She had been laid on her sofa with significant injuries to her head. She was wrapped in a duvet. Traces of rat poison were found near her body. She had no injuries of self-defence, suggesting the killer struck when she was least expecting it.

During the enquiry, officers found photographs on a phone shared by Scott and Clark showing Sarah's body with a plastic bag over her head.

A post-mortem examination concluded that Sarah died of her head injuries and a pathologist’s opinion said the injuries ‘were a result of several blows with a heavy object, such as a hammer’.

It was deemed that Sarah died on, or around 14 February and as enquiries continued it transpired that while Sarah lay dead in her property, Scott and Clark stole her belongings.

Scott and Clark had been living with Sarah and CCTV showed them both in the vicinity of Sarah’s flat on 14 February, the date it’s believed Sarah died. The couple were captured removing Sarah’s TV from the property.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Knowles, who led the investigation for South Yorkshire Police said: “Sarah died at the hands of someone she trusted enough to live with her.

“The intent of Scott has never come to light, and we do not know why he decided to end an innocent woman’s life.

“I hope today’s verdict and knowing that Scott will spend time behind bars helps bring closure to those who knew Sarah.”

The judge sentencing the former couple, who are no longer together, speculated that Scott had been in a ‘jealous rage’ after discovering that Sarah, who had two children, had professed romantic interest in Zoe Clark.