Man who choked woman to death then used ‘rough sex’ defence in court may get jail sentence increased
Appeal Court judges have refused to increase a killer’s sentence after he choked a mother of two to death and then used the ‘rough sex’ defence in court.
Sam Pybus, 32, was jailed for four years and eight months after admitting the manslaughter of Sophie Moss, a vulnerable mother-of-two who he strangled to death in bed.
The sentence sparked outrage across the country and was referred to the Court of Appeal as ‘unduly lenient’ by the Attorney General.
Teesside Crown Court heard how Pybus was drunk when he applied pressure to her neck for tens of seconds or even minutes at her flat in Darlington, County Durham, in February.
Pybus woke up and found Ms Moss naked and unresponsive but did not dial 999, waiting in his car for 15 minutes before driving to a police station to raise the alarm, the court heard.
Sam Pybus, 32, with his now ex-wife Louise Howitt, was jailed for four years and eight months after admitting the manslaughter of Sophie Moss, a vulnerable mother-of-two who he strangled to death in bed
Pybus, 32, killed his mistress Sophie Moss, 33, (pictured) by applying pressure to her neck during sex
A post-mortem examination revealed he had applied enough pressure to her neck for long enough to kill. There was no evidence of any other injuries or violence.
The Crown Prosecution Service said there was not sufficient evidence to support a charge of murder as there was nothing to suggest he intended to kill her or cause serious harm.
Pybus, of Middleton St George, Darlington, told police he and Ms Moss had been in a casual relationship for three years, and that she encouraged him to strangle her during consensual sex.
The court heard that Ms Moss’s long-term partner, not named in court, said likewise.
Pybus’s court sentence sparked widespread revulsion and disgust due to its length
The Centre for Women’s Justice and the campaign group We Can’t Consent to This have applied for permission to intervene in the case “to ensure the court has information on the latest understanding of the harms of strangulation, and the prevalence and understanding of strangulation within the context of domestic abuse”.
Lady Justice Macur, Lady Justice Carr and Mr Justice Murray will hear the case at the Royal Courts of Justice in London from 10am on Friday.
During the court case, Ms Moss’s older brother James told Judge Paul Watson QC how his family would never be able to shake the belief that she ‘was taken advantage of and exploited’.
Pybus’s ex-wife is pushing for the killer’s sentence to be extended. Louise Howitt said: ‘It seems to me like a massive injustice to Sophie, her family and her two children.
Sam Pybus (right) who strangled Sophie Moss to death during sex is more concerned about not seeing his pet dog than showing remorse for his victim, his wife Louise Pybus (left) has said
‘I don’t think that her sons should grow up with the wrong narrative about their mum’s death.
‘She shouldn’t be made out to be responsible in any way for it, I think it’s a massive insult to suggest that she is somehow brought this on herself – it’s just victim blaming.
‘It is a case of abuse and exploitation and that’s not the way it has been shown in court.
‘I don’t think what [Pybus] has been sentenced to reflects what Sophie’s kids are going to go through.
‘Four years eight months and being out in just over two, it does not reflect the lifetime of grief he has put those two kids through and her entire family. My heart breaks for them.,’ she added to Darlington Live.
A judge heard how Pybus didn’t call an ambulance or attempt to resuscitate Ms Moss.
Instead he got dressed, left her flat and sat in his car for 15 minutes, deciding what to do, before turning himself in at Darlington Police Station.
Tragically by the time paramedics arrived at the ‘joyous’ 33-year-old mum’s home, they couldn’t save her.
In the days that followed, Ms Howitt, who hadn’t realised Pybus had left their home until the following morning, began to put the pieces together.
‘[Police said] we can’t tell you what he’s done – they were obviously still trying to work out what had happened themselves – but through our line of questioning you will draw your own conclusions,’ said Ms Howitt.
‘The first question they asked was ‘did Sam ever strangle you in bed?’
‘My initial reaction was he does like doing that.
‘There was not one part of me that thought he wouldn’t do that – immediately I thought that made sense.
‘I did tell them he had done it to me at the start of our relationship. We had been together eight years but he quickly got the impression that wasn’t really for me. We never had a conversation about it, he never asked can I do this to you.
‘They were very much focused on how did he do it, what did he do, what his intent was when he was doing it.
‘They didn’t really ask any more delving questions. At the time I didn’t realise what I was going through with him was abuse, I thought he was a very messed up person.
‘It was like they were finding evidence for him trying to back up his story..’
Ms Howitt says Pybus was financially and emotionally abusive during their relationship – claiming he got them into around £10,000 worth of debt through pay day loans and reckless spending, was manipulating and gas-lighted her into thinking she was the reason he felt forced to cheat when she had previously discovered his infidelity.
