A man who violently assaulted his partner, causing her death, was today sentenced to eight years imprisonment in the Wellington High Court.
Jesse Stuart Ferris-Bromley, 22, had earlier pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Virginia Rose Ford, a 20-year-old Massey student from Dunedin.
Miss Ford died on 13 March 2015, in the Palmerston North apartment she shared with Ferris-Bromley, from internal injuries suffered during a serious assault.
Detective Sergeant David Thompson, the officer in charge of the investigation into Miss Ford’s death, says the case was an extremely difficult one for investigators.
“Virginia’s death was the result of a serious assault by Ferris-Bromley, and there was also evidence of a number of injuries from previous assaults. Virginia obviously suffered significantly in the last few months of her life and the discovery of this has been a source of great pain for her family.”
“While Ferris-Bromley’s guilty plea and sentence has spared Virginia’s family the trauma of reliving those final months during a trial, but the tragedy and loss they have suffered cannot be overstated.”
“Virginia was a young woman with her whole life ahead of her. She had moved to Palmerston North to study Computer Science at Massey University and was excited about this new chapter in her life. Ferris-Bromley’s actions betrayed the trust Virginia and her family placed in him in the worst way possible.”
Virginia’s family have asked Police to release the following statement, and attached photo of Virginia, on their behalf:
“We have lost our beautiful daughter. No matter what the sentence is, it will never be enough for taking the life of our beloved Virginia or what was done to her in the weeks before she was killed. We have to live with that. Nothing can bring her back.
“We would like to thank family and friends for their support over the past year and the Palmerston North police for their help.
“There will never be closure for us but we would like to be left alone so we can start to learn how to live our lives without Virginia. We ask that media respect our privacy at this difficult time.”
ENDS
Issued by Rachel Purdom, Public Affairs, PNHQ.
