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Man jailed for at least 31 years for murdering student in Wigan Man jailed for at least 31 years for murdering student in Wigan
(35 minutes later)
A man has been jailed for a minimum of 31 years for the sexually motivated murder of a teenage student.A man has been jailed for a minimum of 31 years for the sexually motivated murder of a teenage student.
Mark Buckley, 52, attacked 18-year-old Ellen Higginbottom, before taking her laptop and mobile phone and then leaving her for dead near a wheat field close to Orrell Water Park in Wigan, Greater Manchester.Mark Buckley, 52, attacked 18-year-old Ellen Higginbottom, before taking her laptop and mobile phone and then leaving her for dead near a wheat field close to Orrell Water Park in Wigan, Greater Manchester.
Higginbottom was reported missing after failing to return home from Winstanley college in Orrell on 16 June. Ms Higginbottom was reported missing after failing to return home from Winstanley college in Orrell on 16 June.
Her body was found the next day and a postmortem examination showed she had died from multiple wounds to the neck.Her body was found the next day and a postmortem examination showed she had died from multiple wounds to the neck.
The A-level student, who aspired to be a vet, was targeted by Buckley as she walked alone in the park after earlier revising at the college. She was intending to return and meet up with friends who were sitting exams. The A-level student, who aspired to be a vet, was targeted by Buckley as she walked alone in the park after revising at the college. She was intending to return and meet up with friends who were sitting exams.
Sentencing Buckley, Judge David Stockdale QC said the facts of the case were “frankly chilling”. Sentencing Buckley, Judge David Stockdale QC, the honorary recorder of Manchester, said the facts of the case were “frankly chilling”.
He said: “You, Mark Buckley, had entered the park intending, as I find, upon attacking and sexually assaulting a female.He said: “You, Mark Buckley, had entered the park intending, as I find, upon attacking and sexually assaulting a female.
“You were carrying a bag later seen to contain items for sexual activity, together with a length of rope and cord. “You were carrying a bag later seen to contain items for sexual activity, together with a length of rope and cord. You were carrying a knife.”
“You were carrying a knife.” Ms Higginbottom, who was of a slight build and did not know her attacker, was unable to physically offer much resistance, the judge said.
Stockdale told the defendant: “Despite that, her wounds indicated that she tried, albeit in vain, to defend herself.
“As it was you subjected her to a savage and brutal attack. You inflicted many wounds in cutting her throat and killing her. It was as cowardly and callous as it was brutal.
“She would have had no idea it was coming. She would have been caught entirely off her guard. You were armed with a knife. She simply did not stand a chance.
“What must have been going through her mind is beyond imagining.”
Buckley later returned to the park and moved her body, which he intended to bury under the cover of darkness, the court heard.
But he was thwarted as a police helicopter with heat-seeking equipment hovered overhead and he ran away.
Buckley was later arrested and admitted killing Ms Higginbottom but gave no explanation for his actions.