In one of the most horrific murders ever documented in the UK, a 17-year-old girl was subjected to weeks of torture by her abusive partner, who gouged out her eyes and partially scalped her. ‌

On 16 April 1996, Greater Manchester Police received a call from a man claiming that his girlfriend, Kelly Anne Bates, had accidentally drowned in the bath, marking the beginning of a series of shocking revelations for the police team. ‌

James Patterson Smith, then in his late 40s, concocted a tale about attempting and failing to resuscitate Kelly, but this was swiftly dismissed when officers arrived at Smith's home to find Kelly's lifeless body drenched in blood. ‌

Investigators concluded the 17-year-old girl had sustained dozens of appalling injuries at the hands of the man who had manipul

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