Latest / NO FILTER / HUSBAND KILLER THAT CHANGED THE LAW_ The Jade Ward Case(MP3_160K)

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HUSBAND KILLER THAT CHANGED THE LAW_ The Jade Ward Case(MP3_160K) · NO FILTER

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Is there anyone else at home with your wife.
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: When you've oken up Wednesday morning? Did you have puns
• 0:08
  Speaker 2: to go to that address?
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: No comment you described as controlling, jealous, obsessive. Got any
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: comments to make in relations to that? Oh? Comment? What's up?
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: The house is empty?
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: You're watching totally true crime. Today's case takes us to
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: Shotton in Flintshire, a small town in Wales on the
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: border of England. It's home to just over six and
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: a half thousand people, and in August twenty twenty one,
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: it was home to twenty seven year old mother of four,
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: Jade Ward. When Jade was sixteen, she met a man
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: called Russell Marsh. He was two years older than her,
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: and when they started dating, Jade's friends and family could
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: see how quickly she'd become infatuated with him. They accepted
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: him and welcomed him into their family with open arms.
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: They liked him, they thought they made a good couple,
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: and shortly after meeting, Jade fell pregnant with their first child.
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: She'd always wanted to be a mum, so despite being
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: a young mum, she was excited, and when she gave
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: birth to their son, she doated on him a few
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: years into their relationship, Jade's friends and family noticed that
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: Russell's behavior towards Jade had started to change. He became
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: possessive and controlling. He needed to know where she was
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: at all times. Jade worked in their local shop, and
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: he would constantly call the work phone and text her
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: on her mobile to confirm that she was there. Her
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: family described him as hounding her, and the pair would
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: often split up and then get back together. Jade wasn't confrontational,
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: and she would often just go along with things to
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: keep the peace. Russell used Snapchat's tracking features to keep
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: an eye on where she was at all times. When
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: they did split up, he would constantly drive past her house,
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: stopping outside and beeping his horn, letting her know that
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: he was there watching her. She felt like she couldn't escape.
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: During the next few years. Jade had other children with Russell,
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: all boys, and she wanted to continue to be a
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: doting and loving mother. She wanted the family unit, but
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: Russell's jealousy and erratic behavior meant that she often felt
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: like she had no choice but to break up with him.
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: But then Russell did something very unusual. He secretly booked
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: their wedding. He arranged the service, the venue, the food.
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: Everything He told their children before telling Jade, so they
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: were excited, and he got the boys to break the
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: news to their mum that she was going to be
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: getting married to their dad. Jade came home from work
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: and her sons announced to her that their dad had
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: arranged a wedding and surprise, she was going to be
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: his wife. Not wanting to break the hearts of her children,
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: who were now excited and buzzing for this big day,
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: she went along with it. She had no say in
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: the wedding. She was tired and exhausted, as she was
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: pregnant at the time with their fourth child. By now,
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: her friends and family knew very clearly that Jade didn't
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: want to be with Russell. She had told them all
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: that she wanted to leave him, but she felt that
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: she couldn't upset her children by not going through with
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: the wedding. They got married, and in photos from the day,
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: Jade looks beautiful in a flowing white dress, with her
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: hair dyed red and a smile on her face, But
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: behind that smile, she knew that marrying him was wrong.
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: After the ceremony, her friends and family heard Russell say
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: to Jade, that's it, You're mine now. Jade went on
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: to have their fourth and final child, another beautiful baby boy,
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: and Russell continued to be domineering and controlling. Over the
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: next few years. Jade would often tell her family and
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: friends that she didn't love Russell anymore and the thought
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: of being intimate with him made her skin crawl. She
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: wanted out, and as she got older her confidence started
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: to grow. She realized that life would be better if
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: they finally split up for good. By this point, Russell
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: was sleeping on the sofa and Jade was pulling away
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: from him emotionally. She was done. On the twentieth of
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: August twenty twenty one, Jade went to her friend's housewoman party,
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: and she told her friend that she was going to
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: tell Russell it was over for good and that he
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: needed to leave the family home. Her friends had heard
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: this before, but this time they noticed that she seemed
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: more serious. She was ready to do this once and
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: for all, and Russell had also started to realize that
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: she was serious about them splitting up too. He was
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: also concerned that she was getting close to a male
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: friend of hers. This friend ended up giving Jade a
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: lift home after the housewarming party, and Russell, who had
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: been tracking Jade, was furious. He thought that she was
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: leaving him to be with this other man. When Jade
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: got home, she told Russell that it was over for good,
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: that she wasn't with anyone else, and she wanted him
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: to leave the family home. Over that weekend, Russell turned
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: up to Jade's work while she was still working in
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: their local shop. CCTV shows Jade behind the till and
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: Russell approaching her, though there is no audio on the footage.
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: Jade looks annoyed at him being there. She looks around
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: like she's looking for a colleague or someone to come
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: and help her. Russell can be seen saying something to Jade,
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: and then he walks off when other customers can be
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: seen approaching the till. Jade had asked him for his
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: house key back and she didn't want him letting himself
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: in when she wasn't there or when she was. But
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: unbeknown to her, Russell had had a copy of The
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: key Maid. CCTV at a local key cutting shop shows
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: him getting the key cut while scrolling nervously on his
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: phone as the key is made Russell went to meet
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: a friend of his at the pub that day, and
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: he told him that he thought Jade was having an affair,
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: but he went from being upset to saying things that
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: really concerned his friend. He said, quote, you'll see me
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: in the papers soon. His friend offered to put him
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: up for the night and let him sleep on the sofa,
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: hoping to deter him from doing anything stupid. The following day,
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: Jade met her friend and went for a picnic, but
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: while she was there, Russell kept messaging her, asking her
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: where she was. He said that he couldn't see her
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: car outside of her house, indicating that he was there
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: waiting for her. He said he wanted to spend some
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: time with their children. Not wanting to upset the children
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: or Russell, Jade agreed to him picking them up, and
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: after he takes them, she goes to a local pub
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: with some other friends. Russell had told her that he
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: had to be at work for six pm, so she'd
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: need to be home by that time so he could
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: hand the kids back to her. She had agreed, and
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: she reminded him that she needs the key to their
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: house back. He says he'll give it to her when
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: he drops the children home. Some of her friends visit
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: Jade at her house that day, arriving shortly after Russell
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: had dropped the boys back. Jade tells them that she
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: thought Russell was acting different. Russell had now gone to work,
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: and more friends started to arrive at Jade's house, including
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: the male friend that Russell had wrongly believed was having
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: an affair with his wife. Even though Russell was at work,
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: his mind wasn't on his job. It was on Jade.
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: Through that evening, he called her thirty seven times. She
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: didn't answer, and she put her phone on silence, trying
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: to enjoy the gathering that she was having in her garden.
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: Russell was texting her, asking her what she was doing
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: on why she wasn't answering his calls. Four hours after
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: he started his shift, Russell sent a text message to
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: his boss. This was around ten pm. It said, quote,
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: my brothers had an overdose of heroine. Can I pop
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: out to the hospital to get him settled. I'll be
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: back just after one am latest. He only listens to me.
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: My dad just wrung me and begged me. His boss
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: said that was fine, and he's caught on CCTV leaving
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: work in his car and going to a local petrol
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: station to buy a drink. But Russell's brother hadn't taken
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: an overdose. It was all a lie. Russell was on
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: his way Jade. Around eleven pm, Jade's mother, Karen, who
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: lived close by, had the urge to visit her daughter.
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: She said she didn't know where the urge came from,
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: but she took her dog for a walk and walked
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: round to Jade's house. She noticed that her daughter was
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: in her back garden, so she opened the back gate
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: and Jade greeted her mum with open arms, telling her
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: that she was quote finally free and there was no
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: going back. Her mother was relieved. She hugged her daughter
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: and left, happy that her daughter was finally going to
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: live a life on her own terms. But just around
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: the corner, Russell was parked up in his car watching
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: Jade's house. She'd had a feeling that Russell might leave
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: work and come to see her that night, so her
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: friend offered to stay over, but Jade said she wasn't
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: scared that he would do anything because the kids were
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: in the house. She said it was just creepy. Just
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: after midnight, Jade's guests went home, including her male friend,
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: but that night something had developed between them. Now Jade
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: was single, she'd opened her mind to thinking that maybe
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: there was a spark between them, and that night she
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: kissed him good bye, but she had no idea that
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: Russell was watching them. Jade went to bed. Her four
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: boys were also asleep in the house. Russell approached the
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: front door and let himself in with the key that
• 10:32
  Speaker 2: he had secretly had made. He went into the downstairs bedroom,
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: where one of his sons slept. He woke him up
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: and whispered in his ear Mummy was kissing another man.
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: He then went into the kitchen and grabbed a knife.
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: He made his way up the stairs on One of
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: their children said that they heard their parents arguing, but
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: they soon fell back to sleep because it was late.
• 10:59
  Speaker 2: But what was what's going on in that bedroom was
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: utterly horrific. Russell lunged at Jade and started stabbing her.
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: He slashed her face and as she tried to fight
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: for her life, she was stabbed in the arm. She
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: had the fence wounds on her hands and fingers. Russell
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: then strangled Jade to death, with his children just meet
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: us away. Russell then grabbed Jade's phone and rang his mother.
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: They were speaking for over forty minutes. Meanwhile, Russell's boss
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: has texting him, asking him where he is and if
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: he will be returning to work because it's now gone
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: two am. Russell said he'd be back by one. Russell
• 11:41
  Speaker 2: replies and tells his boss that he won't be in tonight,
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: but he will be in tomorrow. He then grabs his
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: four children and he puts them in Jade's car and
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: drops the kids to his mum's house. At this point,
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: his father had messaged him asking if Jade needs an ambulance.
• 11:59
  Speaker 2: Russell says that she doesn't, and his dad encourages him
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: to go to the police. Here is footage from Russell
• 12:07
  Speaker 2: arriving at the police station and for a while he's
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: crying and acting out, but not telling them what's happened?
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: Is there anyone else at home with your wife?
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: But before dog Dog? The police are dispatched to Jade's
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: house and they start to search the property that they
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: can't find any sign of Jade. When the police relay
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: that information back to Russell, he stops crying instantly, like
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: the whole thing is an act he looks up shopped
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: and he says the police should do another search.
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: The house is empty.
• 13:01
  Speaker 2: Eventually they find Jade's body under a pile of clothes
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: in her bedroom. Russell was interviewed several times over the
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: next few days, and he gave no comment answers throughout.
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: When you've woken up Wednesday morning, did you have puns
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: to go to that address?
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: A s.
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: What's your intention on going to that address?
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: You described as controlling, jealous, obsessive. You got any comment
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: to make in relations to that? Oh? Comment? Okay.
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: Investigators found a bloody thumbprint on one of the light
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: switches in Jade's house, and combined with the statements from
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: the couple's children and CCTV footage, it was clear that
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: this had been a premeditated murder from Russell. He was
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: charged with murder and he pled not guilty. He also
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: pled not guilty to charge of manslaughter. He eventually told
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: the court that he had gone to the house and
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: had consensual sex with Jade, and that she had brought
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: the knife into the bedroom and caused the injuries to herself.
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: He then said that she'd started to wind him up
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: by telling him that she was in a new relationship
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: with someone else, and from that moment on he just
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: heard white noise and he wanted her to stop, so
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: he strangled her. His trial lasted for two weeks, with
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: Jade's friends and family having to hear all the details,
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: and at no point did he show any remorse. The
• 14:35
  Speaker 2: jury took less than two hours to reach a verdict.
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: On the twelfth of April twenty twenty two, Russell Marsh
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: was found guilty of the murder of Jade Ward, and
• 14:45
  Speaker 2: he was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: term of twenty five years. As he was taken away,
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: he looked up at Jade's family and smiled. The pain
• 14:55
  Speaker 2: he'd put her family through, especially therefore children, who he
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: robbed of their loving and caring mother, was unmeasurable. The
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: children were placed in the care of Jade's family and
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: they tried to rebuild their lives, but their pain wasn't
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: over because Russell knew that as the law stood, he
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: had parental rights over his children. He was asking for
• 15:19
  Speaker 2: their school reports permissions and they had to give it
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: to him. And this is where Jade's family and an
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: incredible group of people stepped in and helped change the
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: law in Jade's name. Jade's Law suspends parental rights for
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: parents convicted of murdering or manslaughtering the other parent of
• 15:40
  Speaker 2: their child, preventing them from controlling decisions about their children's
• 15:45
  Speaker 2: welfare from prison. It was passed in May twenty twenty four,
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: but still is yet to be actioned officially. Jade's family
• 15:54
  Speaker 2: are hoping this will happen in twenty twenty six. Jade
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: Ward was a popular, bubbily and bright personality who always
• 16:03
  Speaker 2: saw the good in everyone. She was described as the
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: life and soul of the party and the heart of
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: the family. Her family continues to honor her memory by
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: supporting her boys and their campaign for Jade's Law. Thank
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: you for tuning in to Totally True Crime. Don't forget
• 16:23
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• 16:27
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• 16:31
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