00:00 Good afternoon, this is Arthur from the Sheffield Star. I'm coming to you today with a video of what happened today at Sheffield Crown Court,
00:06 where today we saw the sentencing of Mark Nichols, age 43, who was sent to prison for life for the murder of Emily Sanderson.
00:13 Emily was described as an incredible person, indeed the beating heart of her family, which has now been ripped away.
00:19 But today, the same loved ones had to listen to the very moment Emily's life came to an end,
00:25 in a powering piece of audio that was played at Sheffield Crown Court.
00:28 Emily, who on occasion took work as an escort, was visiting the house of Mark Nichols, that's her killer,
00:35 on the evening of May 19 at his house on Crofton Avenue this year.
00:40 Around 8.45pm she rang a taxi firm in the city to book a ride to Glendale to get away from the house,
00:47 and indeed the phone call was recorded and then played to court in full.
00:51 In a truly upsetting piece of audio, it was then that Mark Nichols' voice cut in, accusing Emily of stealing from him,
00:58 and an altercation could be heard, which is when four hard, loud thuds played over the audio,
01:06 and then the phone call came to an end.
01:08 This, in fact, was the moment Emily was bludgeoned to death by Mark Nichols with a dumbbell,
01:14 and her life was taken from her, which is something her loved ones had to listen to in court today.
01:19 In preceding days, Mark Nichols, that would be from between May 19 to May 30,
01:24 I don't know if you've got it, but it was assumed that Mark Nichols did try to cover up his gruesome crime.
01:28 Indeed, there seemed to be evidence that he was planning to dig a hole in the back garden and try and bury her there.
01:35 They even saw him digging a hole one afternoon, and he said that he was working to cover up the pool or fill in a pond that was there.
01:42 By May 30, he did turn himself in after encountering his parents, where he told them part of the crime he had committed
01:52 and part of the mess to what he had done. Later, he did indeed plead guilty to murder.
01:58 Meanwhile, Emily's body was left in the house on Crofton Avenue for 11 days before it was found by police,
02:04 and only when they forced entry.
02:06 At Sheffield Crown Court today, Mark Nichols was jailed for life with a minimum term of 17 years and six months.
02:12 In the words of Judge Jeremy Richardson, his final words as he was sent down was, "It was a truly wicked act."
02:21 He let that ring clear in the court.
02:23 Emily's family were in court today. They were wearing T-shirts with Emily's face on it and blazoned with "Emily, one in a million" on them as well.
02:31 A victim impact statement from Emily's mother, Christine, was read out in court by the prosecutor, in which Christine said,
02:38 "Emily was an incredible person. She was deeply and dearly loved by me, her children, her siblings, her family, and her many, many friends.
02:47 She was the heart of her family, and that heart has been ripped out."
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