17 years for murderer who glued woman's lips together

A man who murdered a young woman by repeatedly beating her and gluing her lips together was today jailed for a minimum of 17 years.

The judge at Ballymena Crown Court told Adrian Hayes that he had subjected Julie Tennant to ‘‘pitiless humiliation’’ by sealing her mouth.

Mr Justice Weatherup said: ‘‘In this hideous fashion you ended the life of an unfortunate and tragic young woman.’’

Hayes, 28, from Warden Street, Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland picked up his 21-year-old victim, a recovering drug addict, in the centre of town and brought her to his house.

He then punched her repeatedly, knocking her to the ground and glued her lips together to stifle her cries.

Hayes dozed off for some time while the young woman died. A neighbour who heard her moans described it as like the whimpering of an animal.

Miss Tennant’s parents Billy and Eilish and her two sisters clung to each other, fixing stares on Hayes, a pale gaunt figure in a navy blue bomber jacket and jeans who sat expressionless in the dock.

Mr Justice Weatherup said that the victim had been particularly vulnerable as she had just been discharged from hospital where she had been admitted for treatment for her drug addiction.

Hayes lured the woman who was in search of drugs, back to his house telling her he had a needle.

Last month, a jury at Coleraine Crown Court in Co Derry unanimously found him guilty of murder.

During a harrowing nine days of evidence the court was told how after murdering Miss Tennant Hayes wrapped her body up in a sheet and hid it in a garden shed before going off on a day-trip to Newcastle, Co Down, with his estranged wife.

When he returned he placed the body in the boot of his car and drove it to an isolated spot near the village of Broughshane where he buried it in a shallow grave.