Man found guilty of murdering a neighbour in a supported living scheme

A man has been found guilty of murdering a vulnerable woman who was a neighbour in a supported living scheme in Cheshire.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said that David Mottram, 47, killed Samantha Heap, 45, in a brutal attack at her flat in Congleton shortly after 5pm on 2 March 2021.

Ms Heap lived above Mottram in the Mount Pleasant Supported Living Scheme on Nursery Lane. The scheme supports adults with mental health issues.
 
Ms Heap was said by staff to have been very independent, pleasant and polite and an active member of the local Pentecostal church. She took daily medication and her mental health was described as stable. She had a good relationship with other tenants and there were no known issues with Mottram. 
 
In the hour leading up to her murder, Ms Heap had ordered a takeaway and waved goodbye to a member of staff. She was never seen alive again.
 
Mottram gained entry to her flat and launched a sustained attack upon her. He stabbed her in the face and back, probably with a kitchen knife. He struck her with multiple blows, overpowered her to the ground and then strangled her. He then forced a wooden storage unit on top of her which probably broke her ribs. There were also signs of degradation to her body.
 
He then stayed in the flat and made no attempt to ring an ambulance or get help for approximately 5 hours.

At 10.27pm on 2 March, the Defendant called Crisis Line and asked the call handler to call the police. He said he had killed Samantha Heap, that he was a psychopath and didn’t want to live in the community anymore and he wanted to go to prison. 
 
Police officers arrived at the Defendant’s flat shortly after 11pm. Mottram told them he had Asperger’s syndrome and autism, that he had killed Ms Heap and that he had been planning it for a while. He said he felt nothing, no remorse or any empathy and he must be evil.
 
He was arrested for murder. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter but the Crown Prosecution Service refused to accept that and pursued a prosecution for murder.
 
On Thursday 23 September 2021, a jury at Chester Crown Court found him guilty of murder. He will be sentenced on Monday 27 September 2021.

Daryl Pollard, a Senior Crown Prosecutor with CPS Mersey Cheshire said: “This killing was cold-blooded not only in its execution but from that fact that, before, during and after it, Mottram gave no thought at all to the feelings or impact upon his victim. 
 
“His defence team claimed his autism meant he could not empathise with the feelings of others and that this should excuse him from what he did or at least reduce his crime from murder to manslaughter.
 
“But the Crown Prosecution Service refused to accept that. We argued that, while Mottram clearly does have mental health issues, they do not amount to the substantial impairment upon his understanding, self-control or  ability to form a rational judgment that is required by the law.
 
“The CPS argued that, while undoubtedly a tragic case, this is also a plain case of murder. The jury have agreed with us and found the defendant guilty. However, there are no winners here and our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Ms Heap at this very difficult time.”

Pictured - David Mottram.