Teen tortured for weeks, eyes gouged out and scalp removed in UK's worst murder

In one of the most gruesome recorded murders to ever take place in the UK, a 17-year-old was tortured for weeks by her abusive partner, who gouged out her eyes and partially scalped her

In one of the most horrific murders ever documented in the UK, a 17-year-old girl was subjected to weeks of torture by her abusive partner, who gouged out her eyes and partially scalped her.

On 16 April 1996, Greater Manchester Police received a call from a man claiming that his girlfriend, Kelly Anne Bates, had accidentally drowned in the bath, marking the beginning of a series of shocking revelations for the police team.

James Patterson Smith, then in his late 40s, concocted a tale about attempting and failing to resuscitate Kelly, but this was swiftly dismissed when officers arrived at Smith's home to find Kelly's lifeless body drenched in blood.

Investigators concluded the 17-year-old girl had sustained dozens of appalling injuries at the hands of the man who had manipulated her.

"In my career, I have examined almost 600 victims of homicide but I have never come across injuries so extensive," admitted the pathologist who examined Kelly's body, reports the Mirror.

The full extent of one of Britain's darkest crimes only came to light when Smith visited Gorton Police Station, informing staff he'd accidentally killed Kelly following an argument while she was in the bath - though his account quickly unravelled.

Examination of Kelly's body revealed she had suffered weeks of savage torture before her death, with over 150 recorded injuries inflicted on the young girl over approximately a month.

Before her tragic death, Kelly was subjected to starvation by Smith, who she had brought home as her boyfriend at the tender age of 16, despite a significant age gap of over 30 years.

She had been horrifically abused, tied to a radiator by her hair, burned repeatedly with an iron, stabbed numerous times all over her body and mouth, and disfigured by Smith, who had partially scalped her and gouged out her eyes.

The pathologist reported that Kelly's eyes had been removed "not less than five days and not more than three weeks before her death," which was ultimately caused by drowning.

Peter Openshaw, the prosecutor in Smith's subsequent trial, told the court: "It was as if he deliberately disfigured her, causing her the utmost pain, distress and degradation.

"The injuries were not the result of one sudden eruption of violence; they must have been caused over a long period [and] were so extensive and so terrible that the defendant must have deliberately and systematically tortured the girl."

During the trial, other women who had been harmed by Smith shared their experiences with the abuser, who was described as obsessively jealous and manipulative.

In a shocking twist, Smith claimed that he was the actual victim and alleged that Kelly regularly provoked him and even suggested, without any evidence, that she had inflicted injuries upon herself to frame him.

These accusations were dismissed by the jury, who found the 49 year old guilty of the murder of Kelly Anne Bates, sentencing him to a minimum of 20 years in prison.

Smith's initial parole hearing occurred in 2023, where his request for release from prison was rejected.