Sunderland accused of murder beat ex to death

A woman was beaten to death by her violent ex-partner over several days, a murder case has revealed.

Melissa Eastick, 36, had more than 100 injuries including broken bones, extensive bruising and cigarette burns when she died in Sunderland in October 2023, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

Stephen Todd, 41, denies murder.

Opening the trial, prosecutor Peter Glenser QC said Ms Eastick was “vulnerable and vulnerable” and her death from brain injuries was “neither quick nor easy”.

Mr Todd called 999 about 7am BST on October 17 last year to say Ms Eastick was unconscious and not breathing at his home on Stockton Terrace in Grangetown, Mr Glenser said.

He claimed he had last seen Ms Eastick at 7.30pm the previous day and that she was “fine”, the court heard.

Mr Glenser said that as a “big deal” Mr Todd would later say was a “lie”, adding: “There was no way Melissa Eastick was ‘fine’ the day before.

“Her death was neither quick nor easy.”

The prosecutor said she suffered approximately 123 injuries and that the fatal injury “would have left her deeply unconscious for several days before her death.”

Mr Glenser said she was “repeatedly attacked over a period of several days” and that Mr Todd wanted to kill her or at least cause her very serious harm.

Mr Todd denied hurting her and claimed that when she arrived at his home on October 13 she already had facial injuries, the court heard.

He also said she fell down the stairs on Oct. 16 but was still conscious that night, Glenser said.

Police searched hundreds of hours of CCTV footage in the area around Mr Todd’s home and although there was not complete coverage, no one else was seen entering or leaving the flat, the court heard.

Mr Glenser said this meant that if anyone else had attacked Ms Eastick, they would have had to “gain access to the flat on several occasions and, coincidentally, leave at the precise times the CCTV footage was lost”.

He said Mr Todd and Ms Eastick both had long-standing alcohol problems and had been in a “turbulent” relationship since 2018.

The last recorded sighting of her was when she went to a nearby Asda to buy food with Mr Todd on October 1, the court heard, and no injuries were visible.

Five days later, Vodafone made a recording of a two-minute sales call to Ms Eastick’s mobile phone, which was the “last proof of life”, Glenser said, adding that she was “never seen or heard from again after that”.

Mr Todd told friends that Ms Eastick was ‘away’ on October 16 and that he had used her bank card to withdraw money, the court heard.

Forensic officers found “significant bloodstains” in Todd’s flat and discovered a duvet “heavily stained” with Ms Eastick’s blood, Glenser said.

Jurors heard the 999 call in which Mr Todd said Ms Eastick had gone to bed the night before but he was now unable to wake her as the call handler spoke to him through CPR.

The trial, which is estimated to take ten days, continues.