Killer's past as fraudster who preyed on WW2 hero

The criminal past of a man who murdered his ex-partner by drowning her in a river can be revealed after he was jailed for life.

Vincent Morgan, 47, was told on Wednesday he would spend at least 21 years in prison for killing Lisa Welford, who died in hospital after Morgan held her under water in the River Derwent in Malton.

During his sentencing, Leeds Crown Court heard serial domestic abuser Morgan had racked up 47 previous convictions.

One of those dated back to 2022, when he manipulated and took advantage of his 102-year-old World War Two veteran neighbour, Raymond Whitwell.

The widower, who fought with the British Army at Dunkirk, put his trust in Morgan and agreed to pay him £10 to do some gardening work at his Malton home.

But, as reported by the Scarborough News, Morgan went on to persuade the pensioner to hand over his bank card under the pretence that he was borrowing money.

Over several weeks, Morgan went on to steal £4,240 from Mr Whitwell's account, squandering it on alcohol and gambling.

It was only when Mr Whitwell got his bank statement that he realised Morgan had been systematically withdrawing money.

When his crimes were finally discovered, police found he had also stolen Mr Whitwell's war medal and Battle of Britain brochures.

Morgan admitted fraud, theft and handling stolen goods, having initially denied the charges, and was jailed at the time for 15 months.

But his offending was to take a much more violent turn after his release when he went on to murder his ex-partner.

During his sentencing, the court was told Morgan, of Chandler's Wharf in Malton, was subject to his third violence prevention order and on police bail for assaulting Ms Welford.

However, on 24 April, he breached the order and was seen drinking alcohol with Ms Welford in York.

The court was told the pair travelled back to Malton and were drinking beside the River Derwent when Morgan broke her femur and held her under water.

Ms Welford died of her injuries in hospital the next day.

Judge Guy Kearl, the Recorder of Leeds, described Morgan as "brutal and callous".

"For some years you were her partner, someone who ought to have cared for her and looked after her," he said.

"However, over the past two decades you have shown yourself to be a person who is violent, particularly when intoxicated with alcohol or drugs."

Mr Whitwell, who joined the British Army in 1939, was part of the retreat to Dunkirk, but was not rescued during the famous evacuation of the beaches.

He spent a further 16 days in France before eventually being picked up by a Dutch fishing boat.

After the war, he became a well-known shopkeeper and market trader in Malton, and worked until he was 90. He died in November at the age of 105.

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