London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 31, 2025

Darlington man jailed for four years for killing woman during sex

Darlington man jailed for four years for killing woman during sex

Campaigners say Sam Pybus’s sentence for strangling Sophie Moss sends ‘dreadful message’
A man who strangled a vulnerable woman during sex after drinking 24 bottles of beer has been sentenced to four years and eight months in prison.

Sam Pybus, 32, from Darlington, pleaded guilty to manslaughter after accepting he had killed Sophie Moss by applying pressure to her neck during consensual “rough” sex, but that he did not intend to hurt her.

Campaigners said the sentence sends a “dreadful message to women”.

“It seems that strangling a woman to death is still viewed in law as an unfortunate accident, rather than terrible serious violence,” said a spokeswoman from We Can’t Consent To This, which campaigns against the use of “rough sex” defences in cases involving violence against women and girls.

Earlier this year the government clarified the law to restate the broad legal principle “that a person cannot consent to actual bodily harm or to other more serious injury or, by extension, to their own death”.

Moss, a 33-year-old mother of two, was described in court as “a vulnerable individual who endured poor physical and mental health”.

At the time of her death in February this year, her children were living with their father and she lived alone. She was in a relationship with another man, but had been having consensual sex with Pybus on and off for three years.

Pybus, who was married, turned himself in at Darlington police station in the early hours of 7 February this year.

Richard Wright, QC, prosecuting, said Pybus told detectives that “he must have strangled [Moss] but couldn’t remember doing so”. He said that he woke to find her naked and unresponsive, but instead of doing any first aid went to his car and thought about what to do for 15 minutes before driving to the police station.

A postmortem found she died from strangulation. The pathologist said her injuries “do not suggest either very prolonged or very forceful strangulation or strangulation which was actively resisted”.

Wright told Teesside crown court that Pybus claimed sex between him and Moss was “always rough and that he would dominate her during their sexual activity but that he would never go so far as to hurt her”. He said he would sometimes apply “mild pressure” to her neck during intercourse: “an act that she encouraged and enjoyed.”.

Pybus said he arranged to go to Moss’s house to have sex on 6 February this year, after his wife had gone to bed. He told police he had been drinking for 10 hours and had consumed around 24 bottles of Amstel lager before getting in his car to visit Moss.

He purported to have little recollection of the circumstances of the sex leading up to her death. He said he believed he must have strangled her because his hands were hurting, but couldn’t remember what happened.

Wright told the court the prosecution had “not accepted any form of ‘defence’ advanced by the defendant”. Rather, it was a case in which an allegation of murder could not be proved beyond reasonable doubt.

Earlier this year justice minister Alex Chalk said: “Perpetrators of these crimes should be under no illusions – their actions will never be justifiable in any way, and they will be pursued rigorously through the courts to seek justice for victims and their families.”

But We Can’t Consent To This said the case showed the law was not working. “This sends a dreadful message to women – four years, eight months is an outrageous sentence for killing a woman,” said a spokeswoman. “We don’t think this is how the law should work – and look to the government now to see what they intend to do.”

Moss’s brother James, told Teesside crown court that his sister was “joyous, vibrant, funny, talented and fearless, unless she saw a spider”. The family would “never be able to shake the belief” that she was “a victim, taken advantage of and exploited, and was subjected to an entirely avoidable and infinitely tragic end.”.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×