Man handed 18-year prison term for murdering partner in ‘savage' attack
Corey Dryden repeatedly struck 31-year-old Megan Hughes on the head and body with a knife and claw hammer at her home in Chirnside, in the Scottish Borders, in the early hours of February 9 this year.
The mother-of-two was stabbed 27 times in total.
At about 2.15am, the couple's next-door neighbour was woken by the sound of a disturbance, and heard Ms Hughes repeatedly shouting for help and Dryden telling her to 'shut up'.
Dryden dialled 999 at about 4.35am, but when paramedics arrived Ms Hughes was pronounced dead at the scene.
The 32-year-old initially claimed Ms Hughes had attacked him and that he had acted in self-defence, but on June 27 he admitted murdering his partner.
He was sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh on Thursday.
Sentencing Dryden, judge Lord Harrower said: 'In the early hours of Sunday February 9 you carried out a sustained and savage attack using a large kitchen knife and a claw hammer.'
He said Ms Hughes had sustained stab wounds to the front and back of her chest, face, neck and left arm, and 'blunt force trauma' the front and back of her head.
He added: 'Ms Hughes also sustained defence-type injuries to her left thumb and left wrist, indicating that she remained conscious and aware of what was happening during at least part of the attack.'
The judge told Dryden his actions had caused 'terrible devastation' to Ms Hughes's entire family.
'Such was the nature of the injuries you inflicted, they were deprived of the opportunity to look at her face one last time,' the judge told him.
'No sentence of this court can alleviate their anguish.'
The judge also recounted an incident in a pub on September 22 2024, just five months before the fatal attack, which saw police called.
'When they arrived they witnessed you shouting and swearing at Ms Hughes, calling her derogatory names,' he said.
He went on: 'Ms Hughes had expressed a fear that you would kill her if she returned home that night.
'Ultimately those fears were realised.'
Lord Harrower sentenced Dryden to life with a minimum term of 18 years in prison, saying 'the only sentence for the crime of murder is life imprisonment'.
Dryden, who attended the hearing by videolink from prison dressed in a red jumper, showed no emotion as he was sentenced.
Earlier, Dryden's advocate Lili Prais KC told the court he accepts 'full responsibility for the monstrous crime', and is 'deeply remorseful'.
She read out a written statement from Dryden in which he said: 'No sentence I get will justify or bring closure to her family.
'The despicable, monstrous crime I have committed, I have turned everyone's life upside down.
'I will never be about to forgive myself, or accept the pain I have caused.'
She added Dryden has little memory of what happened on the night of the attack, saying he had been under the influence of drugs and alcohol and that it had been a 'blur'.
Commenting after the sentencing, Moira Orr, who leads on homicide and major crime for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said: 'Corey Dryden is a violent and dangerous man who murdered Megan Hughes in her home, where she had the right to be safe.
'After subjecting her to a horrific assault, he left his partner on the floor to die instead of calling for help.
'His cruel and callous actions have robbed Megan of her future and left her family and loved ones to deal with this unimaginable loss. Our thoughts remain with them.
'Dryden has now been held accountable following this prosecution, which should send a clear message to perpetrators of domestic abuse.'
Police Scotland Detective Chief Inspector Laura White said: 'This was a vicious and calculated attack by Dryden that tragically resulted in Megan's death.
'His actions have robbed a family of their mum, daughter, granddaughter, sister and niece.
'Our thoughts very much remain with Megan's family and friends as they come to terms with what happened to her.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Lawless London: Knife crime offences in the capital nearly double in decade under Sadiq Khan - as report shows West End is becoming a hotspot of offending
Knife offences in London have increased by 86 per cent in a decade, a shocking report has found. London's iconic West End has more knife crime than almost 15 per cent of the rest of the capital combined, according to research from the Policy Exchange. Just five per cent of robberies and 0.6 per cent of 'theft from person' crimes in London were solved last year, the research – titled Your Money or Your Life: London's Knife Crime, Robbery and Street Theft Epidemic' – found. The report's author, ex-Scotland Yard detective chief inspector David Spencer, said his former force must take an unequivocal 'crime fighting first' approach to save the city from a knife, robbery and theft epidemic. Knife offences across the country have increased by 78 per cent since 2014, but Mr Spencer said these figures had been skewed by the scale of the issue in the capital, where there were 16,879 knife crimes last year alone - about a third of the total across England and Wales. The report points out that this coincides broadly with the mayoralty of Sir Sadiq Khan, who was this week publicly criticised by US president Donald Trump, who claimed he had done a 'terrible job.' Sir Sadiq, who was knighted in June, has won the Mayoral elections three times since 2016. The Policy Exchange report claims that since the pandemic knife crime has risen year on year throughout his tenure, with separate figures indicating a nine per cent rise in the past year. A spokesman for the Mayor said murders, gun crime with lethal barrel discharges, knife crime with injury and burglary are all down since 2016 and last year teen murders were the lowest they had been for a decade. But the report's author Mr Spencer said: 'A cosy consensus between police chiefs and political leaders has led to a collapse in proactive policing – in particular stop and search rates – allowing the streets to be surrendered to thugs, robbers and thieves.' The Metropolitan Police said there had been a recent dip in knife crimes between April and May, while personal robbery was down 12.8 per cent in a year. The report made 17 recommendations, including that the capital's top 20 knife crime hotspots should have enhanced 'zero tolerance' enforcement, with extra officers tasked with conducting high volumes of stop and search. The number of searches has dropped by 56.4 per cent since 2022, from 311,352 annually to 135,739, the report states. And the paper argues that contrary to criticism, the controversial practice is not deployed in a 'racist' way and reflected the proportion of the capital charged with serious crimes. The report stated that 39.5 per cent of those stopped and searched were black, while 43.6 per cent of people charged with murder and 45.6 per cent of victims stabbed to death were. 'The police are merely responding to the demographic breakdown of serious and violent offending in the capital,' the report argued. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said he supported the 'zero tolerance' approach, which he understood would require a combination of clear policy, political will and savvy operational policing to implement. 'It also requires policing and political leaders to put public safety ahead of ideological dogma on issues such as stop and search,' he added. The report also called on the Government to force Apple and Google to prevent stolen mobile phones being able to connect with cloud services, which would render them useless to thieves. The Mail revealed on Saturday that traditional county lines gangs are turning to stealing phones over dealing drugs because unprecedented demand from overseas is creating a booming £70million black market. The report also highlighted that 'hyper-prolific offenders' across Britain with 46 or more previous convictions are sent to prison on less than half of occasions after they are convicted again. It recommended the Government should make immediate two-year custodial sentences mandatory for all such offenders upon conviction of a further offence. Labour MP and former Metropolitan Police inspector Jonathan Hinder said the criminal justice system had been left broken, and there was an urgent need to properly resource courts and prisons to restore public faith. 'In the meantime, the law-abiding public want a strong police force to have the confidence to take on criminals, and it's time for politicians of all colours to give the police their full backing to do just that,' he added. A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: 'We are putting more officers in neighbourhoods than ever before, using our stop and search powers to taking thousands of weapons off the street – 17,500 over the past four years - and utilising new technology and data-driven tactics including focussing on the highest harm hotspots to bring offenders to justice and drive down violent crime. 'We are also arresting more than 1,000 more criminals each month thanks to the hard work of our officers. 'Our approach is having success - this financial year, knife-related crime is down by 16 per cent, there has 12.8 per cent reduction in robbery offences and homicide is at a five year low. 'This report repeats the calls that we have previously made for reform of the justice system and the collaboration of partners like major mobile phone producers. 'We all know that reducing knife crime requires a whole of society effort and we will support any initiative that seeks to make this happen.' A spokesman for the Mayor of London said: 'The latest ONS stats also show that overall, the violent crime with injury rate is lower in London than in the rest of England and Wales. 'Record funding from the Mayor and an enhanced approach to neighbourhood policing in the West End has led to personal robberies falling by 20 per cent and violence with injury reducing by 25 per cent in the last year. 'The Mayor is determined to build on this progress – his record £1.16bn funding has secured 935 police officers and he has worked closely with the Commissioner to increase the number of police officers on the beat in the West End, plus additional police officers working in new or enhanced town centre teams in hotspot areas. 'Despite years of austerity by the previous government, this is the latest example of the Met Police and Mayor prioritising what Londoners want and delivering on their pledge to put high visibility policing at the heart of fighting crime and rebuilding community confidence and trust.'
Daily Mail
11 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Man, 31, arrested on suspicion of murder after quadruple stabbing that killed two men at London business
A man aged 31 has been arrested on suspicion of murder after two people were killed in a quadruple stabbing at a London business. The Metropolitan Police announced the charges faced by a man from Hackney, east London, who had initially been detained following Monday's attacks in Southwark. He remains in hospital with injuries not thought to be life-threatening, Scotland Yard said today. Emergency services were called to Long Lane in Bermondsey at about 1pm on Monday following reports of multiple stabbings inside a commercial address. A 58-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene and a 27-year-old man later died in hospital. Two other men, both in their 30s, were also taken to hospital. The Metropolitan Police said the attack was not being treated as terror-related. The stabbings are understood to have taken place near consultancy firm Prospira Global and housing provider Trademark Homes. A resident, who asked not to be named, told the PA news agency: 'It's terrifying. 'I walk past there all the time - it makes you feel really uneasy. 'You just don't expect something like this to happen on a normal weekday.' Detectives from the Metropolitan Police's Specialist Crime Command are leading the investigation. Det Chief Supt Emma Bond, who leads policing for the area, said today: 'Our thoughts are first and foremost with the family and friends of the victims of this tragic incident. 'Our investigation continues at pace and we are working hard to understand the full circumstances. 'I understand there may be concern in the local community and there will be an increased police presence in the area over the coming days. I would also encourage anyone who may be worried to speak to an officer.' A crime scene remains in place and officers continue to investigate the circumstances. The stabbings are understood to have taken place near consultancy firm Prospira Global and housing provider Trademark Homes Police said they were aware of speculation the arrested man was staying at a nearby hotel but that this was not the case. Natasha Ennin, Southwark Council's cabinet member for community safety and neighbourhoods, said she was 'horrified and deeply saddened' by the deaths in the borough. She added that her 'heartfelt condolences' went out to the families and friends of those involved and called on anyone with information to report it. Anyone with information can also call 101, report online or contact 'X'@METCC and quote CAD3499/28.
The Independent
11 hours ago
- The Independent
Man arrested after two killed in Southwark quadruple stabbing
The Metropolitan Police said a 31-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after two men died following a stabbing at a business premises in Long Lane, Southwark.
