An abusive man faces a life sentence after a jury unanimously convicted him of murdering mother of five Holly Sanchez.
Ryan Evans, 31, was on police bail at the time of her death – and one of the conditions was that he should not contact the 32-year-old directly or indirectly.
But she died at his home in Oates Walk, Tilgate, Crawley, and when the police arrived, they could immediately see several injuries.
Ryan Richter, prosecuting, told the jury: “Her face was very swollen and completely discoloured by bruising. She had two severely blackened eyes. There was blood around her mouth and her nose.
“A post-mortem examination was conducted. It confirmed extensive injuries all over Ms Sanchez’s body. In addition to the obvious head injury, there was also bruising to the left side of her chest.
“Ms Sanchez’s brain had been extensively injured and there were five fractures of her ribs on the left side.
“Her left lung had been damaged and the injuries to her chest had caused her to develop pneumonia which had led to her death.”
Mr Richter told the jury at Brighton Crown Court: “They were partners. In the short time they were together Mr Evans regularly subjected her to domestic violence, beating her and hurting her.”
Her brain injuries were similar to those found after car crashes, falls from a significant height or assaults.
Neighbours had seen Evans attack Ms Sanchez and heard him hurling insults at her – and she had told the police about the abuse that she suffered just weeks before she died.
She said that Evans, also known as Mulch, had called her a slut, put a cigarette out on her face, punched her, giving her a split lip and bruising under her chin.
Evans had also bitten her fingers and kept “beating the shit” out of her and, she told police, she was scared that he would kill her.
Witnesses said that he dragged her by the hair and kicked her in the face, leaving her with a bloodshot eye, and forced her to hand over hundreds of pounds.
Her brother Matthew Phillips said that Ms Sanchez had become fearful and her father David Phillips said that she told him that Evans had caused her catalogue of injuries.
Sussex Police arrested Evans in late April last year. He denied assaulting her and told officers that she was an alcoholic who fell over all the time. He was then released but ignored his bail conditions.
Just over two weeks later, on Saturday 13 May, Ms Sanchez, was dead.
Evans denied murder but the jury convicted him – and found him guilty of one count of unlawful wounding, assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH) and controlling and coercive behaviour.
He was found not guilty of a second count of unlawful wounding.
Judge Christine Henson remanded him in custody to be sentenced on Friday 13 September.
After the jury’s verdict, the family of Ms Sanchez, who lived in Titmus Drive, Crawley, said: “We miss Holly and her infectious laugh every day.
“Holly was taken from us and her children by a cruel and evil monster. We hope that the sentencing reflects Evans’s brutal treatment of Holly over the last six weeks of her life.
“We hope that Holly’s case raises awareness of how quickly domestic violence can have fatal consequences.
“We hope that Holly’s story will reach victims of domestic violence that are too scared to speak out and ask for help.”
