Man jailed over 'extreme' assault on woman
The attack on 14 December last year left Samuel Kelham's victim with a complex facial fracture that required surgery, said Nottinghamshire Police.
The 37-year-old, of Cherry Tree Close in Brinsley, pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent, criminal damage and possession of cocaine during a hearing at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday.
He was sentenced to 12 years in prison, with an additional five years on extended licence, and given an indefinite restraining order.
Warning - this article contains distressing content.
On the day of the attack, Kelham stamped on and kicked his victim's head several times after punching her and pulling her on to the landing by her hair.
The woman managed to run outside to get help, but Kelham chased her, police said, and threw her to the ground before kicking her in the head twice.
Officers arrived minutes later, by which time Kelham had already posted about what he had done on social media and fled in a car.
After ramming a police car to make his escape, Kelham's vehicle was spotted by officers in Derbyshire later that day and he was arrested.
Det Sgt Parminder Ahluwalia said Kelham "deserves" his prison sentence.
"His decision to subject his victim to the extreme and prolonged assault he did that morning was cowardly and disgraceful," she said.
"In contrast to Kelham's cowardly behaviour, the victim deserves immense credit for the strength and bravery she's shown in helping us lock him up."
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Legitimate heir-hunting companies use Bona Vacantia to research potential clients, but it also appears to have become a valuable resource for criminals. To claim an estate where there is no known heir, a fraudster simply has to find a promising name on Bona Vacantia, produce a will quickly enough, and be awarded grant of probate. Since 2017 it's been possible to apply for grant of probate online, but critics of the system say it is failing to detect suspicious applicants, and it also appears to increase the opportunity for tax fraud. When someone dies, their estate has to be assessed for inheritance tax. This is not payable on estates worth £325,000 or less, but any amount over that threshold – with some exceptions - is taxed at 40%. It's the responsibility of the person awarded grant of probate to make sure inheritance tax has been paid. Applicants for grant of probate must complete a form to say this has been done, but under the current arrangements, they need do no more than declare on the online form that no tax is due. It is a system that relies largely on trust, but gives ample opportunity for that trust to be roundly abused. During our investigations we have come across cases where estates have been valued at just under the inheritance tax threshold, even though they include property worth far more. One of these was the estate of Charles Haxton. At the time of his death in 2021, Charles Haxton was living alone in a terraced house in Tooting, south London. He was reclusive and only occasionally spoke to neighbours, although one of them, Roye Chapman, was there for him near the end when he suffered a bad fall outside. "I rang the police and then got him up and got him into the ambulance," he says. "His head was all cut open, and then two weeks later, he died." 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What these companies do is unclear, although some have been struck off for fraudulent addresses, and others have been warned for failing to provide accounts. The pattern - multiple businesses, related addresses, similar names - is one which often indicates a criminal network, says Mr Barrow. He adds that owning multiple companies can allow criminals to disperse funds across different accounts and locations, and makes life more difficult for law enforcement. Another Hungarian name featuring in this web of companies is Bela Kovacs, who, according to a will dated 2021, was heir to the entire estate of Michael Judd, from Pinner, west London. According to his neighbours, Mr Judd was a multi-talented individual with a distinguished record in the security services. However, in his final years he had become something of a hoarder, seldom leaving his house. One neighbour, Chris, told us he thought the will had sounded strange and not only because Mr Judd had never mentioned Bela Kovacs. 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Bela Kovacs was granted probate over the estate of Michael Judd, which was valued at £310,000 - just below the inheritance tax threshold. However, HMRC's interest was also piqued by this case, and it has now suspended a planned sale of Mr Judd's bungalow in Pinner. Meanwhile, the dispute over Christine Harverson's estate means the probate process has been frozen, and it looks unlikely to be resolved soon. Tamas Szvercsok cannot take possession of her Wimbledon house, but Lisa and Nicole lack the funds to go to the civil court and prove his will is fake. We wrote to Mr Szvercsok and Mr Silye at the addresses supplied with their probate applications, offering them a right of reply, but we did not hear back. When we shared our findings with the Ministry of Justice, which is ultimately responsible for the probate system, it told us that it was "working with law enforcement to ensure criminals feel the full force of the law". 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