Jayesh Gobar jailed for murdering lover Nelly Myers

A man has been jailed for 27 years for murdering his lover after she refused to give him money for his drug habit.

Jayesh Gobar subjected Nelly Myers, 58, to a "prolonged and savage attack" at her home in Rotherfield, East Sussex, Hove Crown Court heard.

The "terror and trauma of that final hour of her life is unimaginable", Her Honour Judge Christine Laing QC said.

Gobar, 36, had recently been released from prison for violently robbing Mrs Myers, a British Airways host.

The earlier attack was a "terrible precursor of what was to come," Judge Laing said

Mrs Myers "allowed her emotions to override her common sense" and rekindled the relationship after he was freed, the judge said.

The mother of two was a "very warm, loving and passionate person with a desire to help anyone that she could and that was her downfall when she met you," Judge Laing told Gobar.

"I seriously doubt that you ever had any genuine feeling for [her]," the judge added.

"If you did, they were very quickly overtaken by your principal interest, which appears to be getting money from her to feed your drug habit."

Son James Myers said his mother was his "greatest confidant", adding: "Nobody can replace her; a totally unfillable void has been left."

Mr Myers, 30, said he felt "permanently scarred" by the thought of his mother's final moments.

She suffered 23 rib fractures and a traumatic brain injury "of the type most commonly seen in high-speed car crashes," the court heard.

"One of the most poignant images of this case is the clump of her hair found in the hallway, no doubt ripped from her head by [Gobar] as she tried to flee from what should have been the safety and sanctity of her own home," the judge said.

Sentencing Gobar, of Moorland Road, Crawley, to life with a minimum of 27 years, Judge Laing said: "I have detected not one shred of remorse on your part for what you did to a woman who had only ever tried to help you."

In a statement released after the hearing, Mrs Myers' family said they would now focus on "honouring her memory in the way she deserves, celebrating her for the joy and love she brought to so many people's lives".