‘Sadistic’ roofer who stabbed his pregnant girlfriend to death with a pair of SCISSORS in ‘brutal and savage’ attack before telling police who arrested him ‘that won’t bring her back though will it’ is jailed for life
- Liam Taylor, 37, killed Ailish Walsh, 28, in their flat in Hackney in east London
- He stabbed her 40 times and smashed her head with a 15kg dumbbell
- For free and confidential support, connect to a Women’s Aid support worker via their instant messaging service at chat.womensaid.org.uk
A ‘sadistic’ roofer who stabbed his pregnant girlfriend to death with a pair of scissors in a ‘brutal and savage attack’ has been jailed for life.
Liam Taylor, 37, went out to buy rum and coke after killing his 22 weeks pregnant girlfriend Ailish Walsh in a ‘brutal and savage’ attack where he repeatedly stabbed her 40 times and smashed her head with a 15kg dumbbell.
The murder took place at their flat in Hackney, east London, on December 15 last year.
When Taylor was arrested he told police officers ‘that won’t bring her back though will it’.
He pleaded guilty to murdering Ms Walsh, 28, in what judge Nigel Lickley KC, sentencing him at the Old Bailey today, called a ‘ferocious, brutal and savage’ attack.
For free and confidential support, connect to a Women’s Aid support worker via their instant messaging service at chat.womensaid.org.uk
Ailish Walsh, 28, was 22 weeks pregnant when she was killed by her ‘sadistic’ boyfriend Liam Taylor, 37, in their flat in Hackney, east London
Ms Walsh was found dead by her father, Larry Goulding. She was covered in blood and unconscious in her bedroom
Mr Lickley, addressing Taylor, who watched from Belmarsh prison, said it was an ‘extreme example of domestic abuse’.
READ MORE: Roofer, 37, who stabbed his pregnant girlfriend 46 times with a pair of scissors as she was trying to dump him refuses to attend court for sentencing because he finds it ‘extremely distressing’
The judge went on: ‘You betrayed her trust in that you murdered her in her own home.’
He said the attack was both ‘sadistic’ and ‘sexual’ in nature, because the roofer targeted certain parts of the victim’s body.
‘You used a weapon and targeted parts of her face, abdomen and genitals with the intention to disfigure her,’ Mr Lickey added.
The judge said Taylor is ‘clearly’ a man capable of using weapons to carry out violence.
Ms Walsh’s friends and family cheered and applauded in court as Taylor, who had his head in his hands, was sentenced.
The court heard the pair had a ‘volatile relationship’ and that Taylor was upset about Ms Walsh’s latest pregnancy because he had two girls and wanted a boy.
The mother-of-four had been slashed cross the face a dozen times, including her eye, and was discovered covered in blood and unconscious in her bedroom by her own father, Larry Goulding.
Some of the stab wounds were directed at the 22 week old foetus and his partner’s genitals because Taylor had two daughters and wanted a son, the Old Bailey heard.
Prosecutor Jane Osborne said: ‘Ailish had told more than one person that the defendant was upset about the pregnancy because he wanted a a boy.
The court heard the pair had a ‘volatile relationship’ and that Taylor was upset about Ms Walsh’s latest pregnancy because he had two girls and wanted a boy
‘Some of the injuries were deliberately aimed at the unborn child.’
On the day of the murder, Taylor and Ms Walsh were messaging about going Christmas shopping after work.
Ms Walsh worked in St James Kitchen cafe in Walthamstow and had told colleagues how excited she was about the pregnancy.
Domestic violence statistics
- According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), police in England and Wales made 31.3 arrests per 100 domestic abuse reports in the year ending March 2022, a decrease from 32.6 in the previous year
- The 41 forces also referred 67,063 domestic abuse cases in 2022/2021 over a similar time period to be charged by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), a decrease compared to the year ending March 2021 which saw 77,812 cases referred
- The CPS increased its charging rate for domestic abuse cases to 72.7% in the year ending March 2022, which is the highest since March 2018 (75.9%)
- According to the charity NSPCC, police in England and Wales made an average 669 child protection referrals a day to social services in 2020/21 which was an 8% increase to the same time period over the previous year
At 3pm, Ms Walsh texted Taylor and asked about another woman and whether he had been ‘talking to her’.
Taylor said he went to school with the woman but said he had not ‘done anything with her’.
Ms Walsh did not believe him and told him to leave the flat and that she was going to pack her things.
When she returned home she discovered Taylor taking cocaine. She text her father saying she wanted him out of the flat because he was taking drugs.
Her father’s friend rang her at 9.09pm and heard a commotion, muffled noise and Ms Walsh screaming ‘no’.
Taylor was heard saying ‘you can’t do that to me, I won’t let you do that to me’.
After killing his pregnant girlfriend, Taylor went to the White Hart pub on Stoke Newington High Street and told the bar tender he had been attacked, before ordering a triple rum and coke.
He visited a supermarket and bought a packet of B&H Super Kings cigarettes and a packet of Durex Pleasure Me condoms.
The killer then sent a text to Ms Walsh’s dad’s friend on her mobile phone saying ‘it’s OK liam angry I attacked him were sorting things out please ring him. Xxxxx.’
Taylor, who had cocaine, cannabis and alcohol in his system, was arrested at his home the morning after the attack.
As he was taken into custody, he told police: ‘It’s crazy how one moment of madness can change your whole life.’
Taylor has previous convictions for attacking female members of his family, and was jailed for 12 months for assaulting his mother with a metal pole and cautioned for headbutting his sister when she was 16.
Taylor must serve a minimum sentence of 27 years before he is eligible for parole.
For free and confidential support, connect to a Women’s Aid support worker via their instant messaging service at chat.womensaid.org.uk
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