A ‘manipulative’ boyfriend who murdered a mum of two during a 24-hour period of violence while on bail for attacking another woman has been jailed for life.
Jason Gowen, 27, must serve at least 20 years in prison after he admitted killing Fiona Robinson, 37, who was found with bruises and bite marks across her body. CCTV footage played in court revealed how Fiona had been healthy when she made her way home on the evening of May 24, 2023 to her address in Chorley, Lancs.
But Gowen was lying in wait for her and over the next 24 hours, he brutally assaulted her before finally calling an ambulance in the early hours of May 26. Paramedics found Fiona’s heavily bruised body, while police also found multiple holes in the walls of the address and a damaged suitcase close to her body.
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Gowen told officers he thought Fiona had had her drink spiked while out the previous night and had become ill. But a post-mortem examination later found she had died from multiple injuries – with bruising around her neck consistent with strangulation.
She also had 16 fractured ribs, five fractures to her lumbar spine process and significant bruising, both old and fresh, over her entire body. Gowen later pleaded guilty to murdering Fiona and was sentenced yesterday, Wednesday, at Preston Crown Court.
In a statement read in court, her two teenage children said the death of their mum had left a 'massive hole' in their hearts. They said: “Emotionally, a massive hole has been left in our lives and our hearts. It's as if we have a constant physical ache in our chests.
“I can be sat on a bus and hear children shout ‘mum’, or walk down the street and hear a child call out ‘mum', and I realise that I'll never be able to say that again myself.” Speaking about Gowen, they added: “I feel anger towards him as he is the reason I didn't see my mum for the last twelve months and the reason our mum isn't here anymore.
“If he had never entered our lives she would still be here.” Fiona’s mum, Susan Dunstan, added that she’d felt as though she was living through a ‘nightmare’ after finding out how her daughter had died.
She said: “Since we lost Fiona, I haven't been able to eat or sleep properly. It takes me hours and hours to drift off, and when I do all I can see is Fiona.
“I find myself going through what must have happened over and over again. It is like living in a nightmare that I just want to wake up from.
“As soon as I open my eyes she is in my thoughts. No mother should ever have to bury her child, especially in such circumstances.
“I cannot get the image of Fiona, injured, out of my head. I have nightmares where I can see it taking place, but I am powerless to stop him.”
Gowen and Fiona had been in a relationship for 15 months when she moved to Chorley, Lancs., from Barrow-in-Furness to live with him. During that time, there were a number of concerns raised by friends and colleagues of Fiona in relation to injuries that they had witnessed.
They also raised concerns over the control they thought Gowen had over her. Some of these led to reports to police and subsequent investigations and a disclosure under Clare’s Law was made to Fiona.
This revealed Gowen had previously been the subject of domestic abuse reports with a number of previous partners. And it also showed he had also been charged with an offence of assault on a previous partner which was proceeding through the courts.
For the offences committed against a previous partner, he also received 40 weeks which will run concurrently with the sentence he was handed down today. Detective Superintendent Mark Haworth-Oates, of the Lancashire Police, said after the hearing that the case was "utterly heartbreaking".
He said: “Throughout her relationship with Gowen, Fiona was subjected to physical and psychological abuse, which culminated in the attack which killed her. It is clear from speaking to her family that Fiona was a very much-loved daughter, sister, mum and friend and that her death has left a hole in many, many lives.
“It is utterly heartbreaking, especially as her two children will now have to grow up without her. Gowen has shown himself to be a violent and manipulative offender, who preyed on women that he formed relationships with.
“While we will never know what caused the violence on that night, it is clear that Gowen put Fiona through an unimaginable ordeal, over a period of 24 hours, inflicting a large number of injuries upon her.
“He then failed to get Fiona the medical help that she so obviously needed, no doubt all for reasons of self-interest and control, and allowed her to die. I hope that the family can start to rebuild their lives now, in the knowledge that Gowen has admitted his guilt and is in prison.
“There is no excuse for abuse. If you hear Fiona’s story and see similarities in your own life or that of a family member or friend then I urge you to seek help and make a report to the Police or other agencies who can provide advice and support.”
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