Earlston Bennett was yesterday found guilty at Southwark Crown Court of the murder in 2025 of his partner, Sarah Reynolds. Bennett has been remanded in custody until his sentencing in December.

Murderer: Earlston Bennett will be sentenced in December

Bennett, 58, from Towpath Way, South Norwood, was also convicted of using controlling and coercive behaviour.

Sarah Reynolds died on April 12, 2025, after being rushed to hospital by the London Ambulance Service, whose paramedics had found her at home unresponsive.

Bennett had made the 999 call in the early hours of the morning, saying that his partner had taken an overdose of prescription medication.

A paramedic who was first on the scene had noticed injuries to the victim’s body and questioned Bennett about them. He admitted they had argued earlier in the evening, but maintained that his partner had suffered an overdose.

The postmortem examination revealed extensive injuries to Reynold’s body, externally and internally, and a pathologist concluded that she died as a result of blunt force trauma to her head and torso. Critically, the postmortem found nothing to indicate that Reynolds had taken an overdose, as Bennett claimed.

Bennett was arrested at 5.05am for causing grievous bodily harm, while paramedics were still attempting to save his partner’s life. As he was taken to the police station, he was overheard complaining about Sarah, asking: “How could you do this to me?”

Bennett was rearrested on suspicion of murder shortly after 6am.

In interview, he admitted physically assaulting his partner earlier that evening but denied killing her. He subsequently sought to suggest that her injuries and death were a result of drugs overdose, falls and CPR administered by medics.

Detectives worked with forensic and medical experts to establish that Bennett’s assault on Reynolds was a direct cause of her death .

They also trawled phone data and spoke to Sarah friends, family and work colleagues, piecing together how she had suffered years of controlling behaviour and domestic abuse at her partner’s hands.

It was established that Bennett had threatened violence, demanded money, controlled the food they ate and subjected her to repeated jealous phone messages and calls while she was at work or with her family.

Bethan David, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “The evidence in this case painted a devastating picture of the fear, isolation and control Sarah experienced in the years leading up to her death.

“Her injuries exposed the violence and cruelty inflicted on her behind closed doors at the hands of someone she should have been able to trust.

“Prosecutors worked closely with police to build a compelling case, and, despite Bennett’s repeated denials, the evidence proved he caused the injuries that killed Sarah and had subjected her to controlling and coercive behaviour throughout their relationship.

“The jury’s verdicts reflect the strength of the prosecution’s case, and I hope this conviction brings some measure of justice for Sarah.”

Detective Inspector Carly Shaw, who led the investigation, said: “This is an awful case whereby Sarah was subjected to years of degrading abuse by the man closest to her. He chose to use Sarah’s affection for him as a vehicle to repeatedly demean and assault her, eroding her sense of self-worth. He then took her life.

“At no juncture has Bennett taken accountability for his actions. To the contrary, the complexity of this investigation derives from Bennett’s lies and efforts to conceal and diminish his role in Sarah’s death. Resolving this required input from multiple forensic, medical and pathology experts.

“My thoughts remain with Sarah’s grown-up children, her wider family and friends. I commend them for their dignity and composure throughout and I sincerely hope that today they feel some sense of justice.

Victim: Sarah Reynolds suffered years of abusive behaviour from her partner

“I would urge anyone who is reading this who is in an abusive relationship to reach out for support, whether that is by contacting the police, another support service or a friend. You will be listened to and supported.”

Sarah Reynolds was 58 when she died.

After the trial, Sarah Reynolds’ family issued a statement: “Although this is a good result and justice has been served, we have lost a sister, mum and grandmother. We won’t ever come to terms with her loss.

“What happened to Sarah should never have happened.

“We feel sad that she felt she could not open up to us, even though we reached out to her.

“We had no idea what was going on behind closed doors and that makes us extremely sad. We will miss and always remember her.”

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