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| Guilty of pregnant partner attack | Guilty of pregnant partner attack |
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| A man has been jailed for 25 years for attempting to murder his heavily pregnant partner and attempting to destroy their unborn baby. | A man has been jailed for 25 years for attempting to murder his heavily pregnant partner and attempting to destroy their unborn baby. |
| Simon Morris, 37, of Prestatyn, Denbighshire, had denied trying to kill Nerys Price, also 37, with a hammer as she slept beside him in their home. | Simon Morris, 37, of Prestatyn, Denbighshire, had denied trying to kill Nerys Price, also 37, with a hammer as she slept beside him in their home. |
| Mold Crown Court heard that Morris would have inherited money from her will and had been having an affair. | Mold Crown Court heard that Morris would have inherited money from her will and had been having an affair. |
| The prosecution claimed he made the attack look like burglary gone wrong. | The prosecution claimed he made the attack look like burglary gone wrong. |
| Morris hit Ms Price twice on the head with the sharp end of a bricklayer's hammer when she was 38 weeks pregnant with his child, the trial heard. | Morris hit Ms Price twice on the head with the sharp end of a bricklayer's hammer when she was 38 weeks pregnant with his child, the trial heard. |
| Prosecutor Patrick Harrington QC said Morris then made it look as if an intruder had been responsible. | Prosecutor Patrick Harrington QC said Morris then made it look as if an intruder had been responsible. |
| It appeared that he was trying to ring the police but was clearly missing the numbers Nerys Price | It appeared that he was trying to ring the police but was clearly missing the numbers Nerys Price |
| But a random burglar would have nothing to gain and everything to lose from attacking a heavily pregnant woman, he told the court. | But a random burglar would have nothing to gain and everything to lose from attacking a heavily pregnant woman, he told the court. |
| When Ms Price woke up she asked Morris to call the police but remembered seeing sevens and nines on his phone as he tried to to dial 999, she told the jury. | When Ms Price woke up she asked Morris to call the police but remembered seeing sevens and nines on his phone as he tried to to dial 999, she told the jury. |
| "It appeared that he was trying to ring the police but was clearly missing the numbers," she said. | "It appeared that he was trying to ring the police but was clearly missing the numbers," she said. |
| After contacting the emergency services herself, she was taken to hospital where she later gave birth by emergency caesarean section to her daughter Freya. She was treated for two skull fractures and underwent emergency surgery. | After contacting the emergency services herself, she was taken to hospital where she later gave birth by emergency caesarean section to her daughter Freya. She was treated for two skull fractures and underwent emergency surgery. |
| Both have since made a full recovery, the jury was told. | Both have since made a full recovery, the jury was told. |
| Ms Price, who now lives in Ruthin, Denbighshire, also told the court how, on her release from hospital, she began having doubts about Morris's "peculiar behaviour". | Ms Price, who now lives in Ruthin, Denbighshire, also told the court how, on her release from hospital, she began having doubts about Morris's "peculiar behaviour". |
| Nerys Price thought he was her loving, doting boyfriend and father of her unborn child Patrick Harrington QC | Nerys Price thought he was her loving, doting boyfriend and father of her unborn child Patrick Harrington QC |
| He was arrested eight days after the attack on 23 August, 2008. | He was arrested eight days after the attack on 23 August, 2008. |
| In the run-up to the attack he was "the driving force" behind the couple changing their wills, the court heard. | In the run-up to the attack he was "the driving force" behind the couple changing their wills, the court heard. |
| Ms Price's death would have initially made him the sole beneficiary of £145,000 from her "death in service" insurance policy, and in total he would have landed hundreds of thousands of pounds. | Ms Price's death would have initially made him the sole beneficiary of £145,000 from her "death in service" insurance policy, and in total he would have landed hundreds of thousands of pounds. |
| Mr Harrington said Morris had also begun a new relationship with another woman, Kate Christian, a mother-of-two, of Tremeirchion, Denbighshire. | Mr Harrington said Morris had also begun a new relationship with another woman, Kate Christian, a mother-of-two, of Tremeirchion, Denbighshire. |
| The prosecutor told the court Morris had met Ms Christian at a bar in St Asaph, several months before the attack and was planning to use the money he inherited to start a new life with her. | The prosecutor told the court Morris had met Ms Christian at a bar in St Asaph, several months before the attack and was planning to use the money he inherited to start a new life with her. |
| "Nerys Price thought he was her loving, doting boyfriend and father of her unborn child," Mr Harrington told the jury. | "Nerys Price thought he was her loving, doting boyfriend and father of her unborn child," Mr Harrington told the jury. |
| "For his own wicked reasons he had determined to kill her." | "For his own wicked reasons he had determined to kill her." |
| Bowed head | Bowed head |
| Morris admitted betraying Ms Price but said it did not make him capable of wanting to kill her and their unborn child. | Morris admitted betraying Ms Price but said it did not make him capable of wanting to kill her and their unborn child. |
| His barrister Nick Johnson QC told the court Morris's "greatest sin" was the fact he deceived Ms Price, and said it had made him an "easy target" for police. | His barrister Nick Johnson QC told the court Morris's "greatest sin" was the fact he deceived Ms Price, and said it had made him an "easy target" for police. |
| The defence said a possible explanation for the break-in was intruders wanted the keys to Morris's £16,000 American Chevrolet Corvette. | The defence said a possible explanation for the break-in was intruders wanted the keys to Morris's £16,000 American Chevrolet Corvette. |
| He had been tried in May, but the jury failed to reach a verdict and a retrial was ordered. | He had been tried in May, but the jury failed to reach a verdict and a retrial was ordered. |
| This second trial, lasting three weeks, ended with a jury of eight men and four women finding him guilty. | This second trial, lasting three weeks, ended with a jury of eight men and four women finding him guilty. |
| Morris, a former nightclub bouncer who is 6ft 6in and weighs 15 stone, bowed his head as the jury returned unanimous verdicts following almost six hours of deliberations. | Morris, a former nightclub bouncer who is 6ft 6in and weighs 15 stone, bowed his head as the jury returned unanimous verdicts following almost six hours of deliberations. |
| Judge Merfyn Hughes sentenced Morris to 25 years in prison after an adjournment. | Judge Merfyn Hughes sentenced Morris to 25 years in prison after an adjournment. |