The Case of Julia Rawson: Dismembered Body in a “Flat of Horrors”

Tipton, West Midlands: The Murder of Julia Rawson

Julia Rawson, 42, got on the wrong bus on the night of May 11, 2019. It took her to the Bottle and Cork pub in Dudley, where she met Nathan Maynard-Ellis, a stranger. At about 2 a.m. they left together by taxi for the flat in Tipton, West Midlands, that he shared with his boyfriend, David Leesley. Prosecutors said she probably did not know he was gay or that Leesley was waiting at the flat.

She was killed there. Her body was cut into 11 pieces, wrapped in black plastic bags and dumped in undergrowth at points along a nearby canal. On November 9, 2020, a jury at Coventry Crown Court convicted both men of her murder. Both had denied it.

Tipton, West Midlands: The “Flat of Horrors”

The prosecution’s name for the flat was not hyperbole. Taxidermied animals hung on the walls. Snakes and other reptiles lived in tanks. There were mounted swords, spiders, a model figure holding a knife, and a collection of gory horror-film masks that Maynard-Ellis made himself.

Maynard-Ellis had for years held what the court heard were dark thoughts about sexual assault and violent killing. He collected newspaper clippings, books, DVDs and videos about serial killers, dismemberment and violent sexual abuse, along with horror films that may have depicted decapitation and necrophilia. He had reportedly seen psychiatrists about sexually violent fantasies.

Coventry Crown Court: What the Jury Decided

At trial Maynard-Ellis admitted involvement in Rawson’s death but denied murder. Leesley denied any part in the killing itself. The jury convicted both. The judge said he was sure both men had repeatedly struck her on the head with weapons.

The same jury convicted Maynard-Ellis of four counts of rape and one of attempted rape. Those charges came from historical allegations made by another woman after his arrest.

The undisputed core is short and ugly: a chance meeting, a controlled space, a killing by repeated blows to the head, and a dismemberment carried out to make disposal easier. The flat did not cause the murder. It did show, in advance and on the walls, what Maynard-Ellis had been rehearsing in his head.

Warwick Crown Court: Sentence

On December 21, 2020, at Warwick Crown Court, Mr Justice Soole jailed both men for life. Maynard-Ellis must serve a minimum of 30 years and Leesley a minimum of 19 years before they can be considered for parole. The judge found that Maynard-Ellis took the lead role and that Leesley gave him “unquestioning support”.

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