SENTENCING STATEMENTS

On sentencing, Judge Miller said: 

"ELIZABETH ANN SWEENEY, you were found guilty after trial of the murder of Neil Jolly. The jury were satisfied that, on an occasion between 22 June and 26 June 2023, within Neil Jolly’s flat at 8 Marischal Court in Aberdeen, you assaulted Mr Jolly by repeatedly punching him on the head and body, kicking him on the head and repeatedly striking him on the head with a kettle or unknown implement. The evidence clearly indicated that this murderous assault in fact took place late on the evening of Thursday 22 June or in the early hours of Friday 23 June 2023.

The members of the jury were satisfied that you demonstrated prior malice and ill-will towards Neil Jolly by assaulting him, causing bruising to his face. The evidence clearly indicated that you did this on at least two occasions in the space of two weeks or so prior to his death. The members of the jury were also satisfied that the murder of Neil Jolly was aggravated by domestic abuse because he was, contrary to your evidence, your partner or ex-partner at that time.

In the course of giving evidence at your trial you alleged that Neil Jolly instigated the incident which resulted in his death by sexually assaulting you whilst you were asleep. That allegation was the only basis for the pleas of self-defence and provocation which you relied on at trial. In rejecting both of those pleas, it is clear that the members of the jury must also have rejected this allegation which you made against Neil Jolly.

You murdered Neil Jolly by inflicting multiple blows on him in the course of what must have been a prolonged and sustained assault, resulting in over 70 blunt force injuries, particularly to his head and neck, but also to his torso, arms and hands, including a number of apparent defensive injuries. You inflicted a severe and fatal brain injury and other head injuries which, according to the medical evidence given at your trial, were of a kind which might be expected to result from a high-impact road traffic collisions or a fall from height, along with fractures to a rib and to a structure in his throat.   

I told you when you were convicted that murder is the most serious crime known to the law of Scotland.  The murder of Neil Jolly was aggravated not only by prior malice and ill-will and by domestic abuse, but also by your attempts, however unsuccessful, to interfere with evidence by soaking Neil Jolly’s body with water and by attempting to clean some blood from the bathroom of his flat and from the kettle which you used in the assault and also bythe fact that, having killed Mr Jolly late on the evening of Thursday 22 June or in the early hours of Friday 23 June 2023, you waited until the early hours of Monday 26 June before contacting emergency services. During the intervening weekend you did nothing to seek help for Neil Jolly or to allow his body to be recovered. Instead, you appear to have spent that weekend in much the same way as you might have spent any other weekend, apparently giving little, if any, thought to Neil Jolly’s fate or your part in it.

Statements written by Neil Jolly’s mother, son and sister powerfully express the enormous loss which his death represents to his family, which includes his three children. It is clear that the family’s distress has been magnified by the knowledge of how Mr Jolly died and the knowledge that you left him where he lay for three days after you murdered him before contacting emergency services.   

You are now aged 36. You were aged 35 when you murdered Neil Jolly. Your schedule of previous convictions shows that you have multiple convictions between 2009 and 2021 for a variety of offences including three convictions at summary level for assault and convictions for possession of an offensive weapon, crimes of disorder, crimes of dishonesty, possession of controlled drugs and breaches of court orders. Although you have served a number of short custodial sentences, none of those were for the assault or weapons offences.

I have noted the terms of your criminal justice social work report, which discloses your difficult personal background, including abuse by a previous partner, and your longstanding drug addiction. Although you maintain your general description, which the jury rejected, of how this incident began, the report states that you take full responsibility for Neil Jolly’s death and that you feel remorse for your actions.

I have also had regard to everything said on your behalf this morning by your senior counsel.

The only sentence which the law allows for murder is life imprisonment. You are sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Neil Jolly.  That sentence will run with effect from 27 June 2023, when you were first remanded in custody in relation to this matter.

I am required by law to fix the punishment part of your sentence. The punishment part is the period of time which you will need to serve in custody, for the purposes of punishment and deterrence, before you could be considered for release on parole.

In your case, taking account of the seriousness of the crime of which you have been found guilty, the various aggravating features which I have identified, your previous convictions, and the guidance which judges must apply, the punishment part of your sentence will be 18 years with effect from 27 June 2023, 18 months of which relate to the domestic abuse aggravation. This does not mean that you will be released at the end of that period. It means that, until that period has been served in custody, you cannot be considered for release on parole. After the end of the punishment part of your sentence, the Parole Board will decide whether and under what conditions it is appropriate for you to be released on parole, taking account of the Parole Board’s assessment of the risk to public safety which you represent at that time."