Man who killed 'friend' and kept body in freezer before setting fire to remains in lay-by gets life sentence

Clive O’Connor, from Bilston, had tried to claim diminished responsibility for the death of the Heath Town mother Jomaa Jerrare but a jury at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court saw through his lies and convicted him of murder yesterday.

The 58-year-old had been living with Ms Jerrare in his Bridge Street flat in the months before he murdered her in August, 2021.

Ms Jerrare’s remains were so badly burned it took forensic officers days to identify her, after her corpse was found in a lay-by off Bridgnorth Road in Perton just after 2am on August 9.

She had been killed and her body was stored in a freezer O’Connor had bought especially.

Sentencing him at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court today, Mr Justice Pepperall said her murder had been "as senseless as it was abhorrent".

He said he accepted he killed her by smothering her with a pillow and he had planned her murder over some weeks.

He told O'Connor: "It is difficult and ultimately unnecessary to identify your motive for killing Jomaa Jerrare who had always regarded you as her friend.

"What is however clear is that you have a great fascination in crime stories and you knew Ms Jerrare was a troubled woman who had cut herself off from friends and family.

"It appears you must have concluded that her chaotic lifestyle and her estrangement from her family would make her an ideal victim for your planned crime."

He said Ms Jerrare had been particularly vulnerable due to her drug addiction and fragile mental health, but accepted he had struggled with his own anxiety and depression and had no previous convictions.

In a victim personal statement read to the court, the victim’s mother Sylvia Ricketts said her relationship with her daughter had always been close but she had suddenly stopped coming around to see her and she didn't know why.

She said: "I never even dreamed that something like this could happen to her.

"When I was told by police that Jomaa had died and her death was being treated as a murder it was terrible, it was just awful to be told that my daughter had died.

"I had so many questions that couldn't be answered because her death was being investigated by the police. To be told that my daughter had been found at the side of the road and had been set on fire is something that I just cannot put into words.

"I have to live with this feeling on a daily basis. It will stay with me for the rest of my life.

"Not a day goes by without me thinking of Jomaa and the way that she died. As a mother I've already lost one of my children and I did not expect to outlive two of my children."

She said she has had to have counselling and also told the court that Ms Jerrare's daughter lives with her now.

She added: "Before Jomaa died I was very bubbly and vibrant. I had lots of friends and would go out for day trips. I had a very active social life.

"I'm now very withdrawn, whilst I still do go out it's not to the extent I did.

"I just feel like I've been worn down by what's happened. I'm living in hell."

She said it was "utter disbelief" when O'Connor had been arrested and later charged with her daughter's murder as he had visited her after Ms Jerrare was murdered.

She continued: "I thought he had come to help and support us, but looking back it was so callous and barefaced of him to come round to my house.

"I can't believe that someone who is accused of murder could visit her family at such a difficult time and pretend that he was supporting us. "Clive was someone I saw as a friend, someone I looked up to and someone I trusted.

"I'm 74, I've led a very active life and I should now be in a position where I can relax with my family around me, but instead Jomaa has been taken from us in the worst possible way.

"As a result I'm continually worried, anxious and I feel as though everything is a challenge."

A victim impact statement from Ms Jerrare's daughter was also read to the court.

She said she was 'awake all hours' and didn't sleep or eat as a result of what happened to her mother.

The statement added: "What happened to my mum was brutal. "It's something I will never be able to get over. I loved her, she was mine, nobody deserves to have this done to them.

"I don't think I've even started to grieve for my mum yet as all of this doesn't seem real."

O'Connor told detectives he last saw Ms Jerrare alive in mid-July 2021.

However, CCTV footage showed him purchasing items using Jomaa’s debit card at various shops in Bilston up until July 31.

He was easy to spot on various CCTV footage as he wore a distinctive orange Wolves top every day in the days between killing his victim and burning her corpse.

O'Connor also did not realise the freezer had traces of Ms Jerrare's DNA inside, which became a key piece of evidence for the prosecution during the murder trial.