Woman who stabbed her 'boyfriend' to death 'after he ran out of money' jailed for 25 years

Tuesday, August 13, 2024 – A woman who knifed her 'sugar daddy' lover to death 'after he ran out of money' has been jailed for 25 years.

Lauren Harris, 29, murdered 65-year-old grandfather Mark Wilcox at his seafront home in Colwyn Bay, North Wales, on November 20, 2023, according to Mail Online.

It was gathered that she had invited her friends David Webster, 43, and Thomas Whiteley, 33, over for a night of 'drinking and drug-taking' but the evening suddenly turned nasty with Harris and Webster attacking Mr Wilcox with a kn!fe and a vodka bottle.

At Mold Crown Court on Monday, they were both handed life sentences for their attack, while the third defendant Whiteley was found not guilty.

Webster told Harris 'F***ing psychopathic bitch. I hope you f***ing burn in hell, Lauren' as they were led from the dock.

Mr Wilcox entered a relationship with Harris because he wanted to 'look after her in his retirement' and he even moved her into his home in October last year while his estranged wife Marcia Wilcox was still living upstairs.

The court heard Mr Wilcox's 'generosity of spirit' had moved him to support Harris as he sought to turn her life around but he started to struggle with his own finances.

Harris was 'taking advantage' of the father-of-two and repeatedly borrowed money from him, leading to him withdrawing £12,000 from his bank account in five months.

Marcia moved out in October 2023, because she claimed there was a 'cycle of shouting and abuse' when Harris moved in, according to The Sun.

Mr. Justice Pepperall said Harris had committed the crime 'against the man who had loved and supported you', before adding 'I detect no remorse'.

He said Harris took a 'leading' role, but said to Webster: 'You were a willing accomplice in this brutal crime. It was you who bludgeoned your victim with a vodka bottle.'

On the night of the murder, Webster said Harris looked like a 'crazed animal' as she attacked Mr Wilcox.

He said: 'The look in her eyes - her pupils were massive, it was just the speed at which she did it.'

The jury heard that Harris stabbed the retired Ministry of Defence computer expert twice as he sat in his armchair.

In the days before the tragedy she started a new relationship with Webster and they shared a bed. They were described in court as callous 'partners in crime' who spent money on drugs.

Harris fled the scene in Mr Wilcox's red Volvo with her two pals Webster and Whiteley.

Footage captured Harris sitting in the driver's seat of Mr Wilcox's car outside his home, shouting 'come on' and sounding the horn repeatedly.

Less than a minute after driving away, the car crashed.

Police were later called to a single-vehicle crash on the A55 slip road in Colwyn Bay and the car's registration number was traced back to Mr Wilcox - who they found lying unconscious in his living room.

The murder trial jury heard how police went to a property in Bay View Road, near the town centre of Colwyn Bay, last November, and Mr Wilcox was discovered in an armchair, stabbed and battered to death.

He had been punched, kicked, and stamped on, and suffered broken ribs.

Harris had used Mr Wilcox's bank cards at two ATMs in a bid to withdraw cash for drugs.

The judge said the murder may have happened out of anger that the money had dried up.

Mr Justice Pepperall said Webster lied about how he had Mr Wilcox's watches. 'The appalling truth is you stole one of the watches from a dying man's wrist,' he said.

'This was a sustained and vicious attack in which you showed Mr Wilcox no mercy,' Mr Justice Pepperall declared. From his defensive injuries it was clear the victim 'suffered greatly.'

When she was initially interviewed by police, Harris denied playing any part in his killing and asked murder detectives: 'Why am I getting nicked?'

The cold-hearted killer blamed Mr Wilcox's death on her friends Webster and Whiteley.

After asking an officer about Mr Wilcox and 'if he had died', Harris added: 'I'm in here because of what them two have done. It wasn't me.'

After being told she was being arrested on suspicion of murder, she said: 'No one's done anything wrong. What do you mean, murder?

'I'm not being funny, I don't know why you've pulled me in for this when there are another two people that have done what they've done - and you're pulling me in for the s*** that they've done.

'Why am I getting nicked for it? It doesn't make sense to me. I've done f*** all, anyway.'

Then an officer heard Harris whispering to herself: 'They've killed him, haven't they?'

Harris did not give evidence in court.

Prosecuting KC Andrew Ford had told jurors that Harris had previous convictions for assault including unlawful wounding in 2022 involving use of a knife against a partner in a block of flats at Old Colwyn.

Mr Ford said the conviction was on the basis she had been defending herself but the force used by her was 'excessive and unlawful.' CCTV footage was played to the court.

Footage was also played of assaults by her on men in the centre of Wrexham and Colwyn Bay.

The prosecutor said Harris had a string of additional convictions for theft.

While Harris and Webster were found guilty of the murder of Mr Wilcox, Whiteley of Clos Emlyn, Old Colwyn, was cleared of the killing.

The judge told him: 'You leave court without any blot on your character.'

Harris and Webster both had a record for violence.

‘In a family tribute last year, Mr Wilcox, who had no convictions, was described as a 'really generous person'.

The statement read: 'He really cared about people. He liked to chat with everyone and would always put others before himself.

'He was a kind soul who was generous to a fault. Mark also cared greatly for his family. With his sisters, he spent a lot of time travelling down to Cornwall to look after his elderly mother.'

Harris, of no fixed address, was jailed for life with a minimum of 25 years today.

Webster, of Lacey Street, Widnes, Cheshire, who had once worked in the vehicle industry, was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 23 years.