A pensioner who murdered a young mum by inflicting almost 200 wounds during a “brutal” screwdriver attack has been jailed for life.
David Jackson, 68, hid the body of Mckyla Taylor, 27, under a duvet on the bedroom floor of his flat in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, after killing her on 16 August last year.
A few hours after police discovered Ms Taylor’s remains, Jackson arrived at the scene asking if he could retrieve a jumper from the property, in Lowtown Street.
He then casually informed an officer that he had killed someone upstairs.
Jackson, described by police as a “drug user”, and Ms Taylor, who had known each other for some time, met up a day earlier on 15 August.
Her family contacted police when she failed to respond to their calls and messages.
Her body was discovered with weights and pushbikes stacked on top when officers forced their way into the flat around 2am on 16 August.
She was pronounced dead around 2.30am, with a post-mortem investigation showing she had suffered 199 separate injuries to her head and body in what police described as a “relentless” attack.
Most of the injuries were inflicted in the bedroom by two screwdrivers found in the living room.
Jackson was jailed for a minimum of 17 years after pleading guilty to murder at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday.
He was silent in police interviews and continued to deny murder until a trial was due to begin, “inflicting further pain and anxiety on her loved ones”, Nottinghamshire Police said.
In a statement issued via the force, Ms Taylor’s mother, Emma Sentence, 45, hailed her daughter and “best friend” as a “fun-loving girl” with a smile that would “light up the room” and who had a “contagious laugh”.
“I still remember the weekend she was killed as if it was yesterday,” she said.
“We had a lovely weekend sunbathing, listening to music and doing our nails and then she left and that was the last time I saw her.”
Ms Taylor’s brother, Callum Taylor, 26, will now be taking care of her one-year-old daughter in the same home her mother grew up in.
“It is like a part of Mckyla is coming home,” he said.
‘No sentence will ever be enough’
“Mckyla had always wanted to be a mum and was so thrilled when she found out she was pregnant. I just want to do my best to bring up her daughter and give her a normal, loving life.”
Ms Taylor was a “lovely and loving person who always put other people first,” Mr Taylor added.
“If she was in a house fire Mckyla was the sort of person who would be the last out.
“No sentence will ever be enough for what happened to Mckyla.
“I will never forget waking up that day and hearing she had been killed.
“I cannot understand why anyone would want to hurt someone that kind.
“I don’t really feel like I have been through the grieving process yet. I’ve just wanted to stay strong for others.”
Her older sister, Nicole, 29, described her as the “life and soul of the party” and said she was “always bubbly, always singing, always dancing”.
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Sentencing judge James Sampson said Jackson would not be eligible for parole for 16 years and 135 days – taking into account the 230 days served in custody.
He also praised the family for their dignity throughout the court proceedings.
Speaking after the sentencing, Nottinghamshire Police detective chief inspector Clare Dean said: “Mckyla was a young woman who was loved and adored by her family and many friends.
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“Her life was taken away from her in the most brutal fashion by David Jackson, who has shown very little remorse and would not give any account in interview.
“The attack Jackson inflicted on Mckyla was relentless, causing catastrophic injuries which ultimately led to her death.
“Today’s sentence will not bring Mckyla back, but it does mean that Jackson will spend a considerable part of his life behind bars, and I hope this gives her family some comfort.”
