Mum killed after school run by father-in-law

A mum-of-two’s life was tragically cut short following a brutal attack from her father-in-law in her own home.

A “beautiful and amazing” mum-of-two was brutally killed by her father-in-law after returning home from the school run, a UK court heard.

Sophie Evans, 30 was found dead in her home following a “sustained attack” at the property in Llanelli, a small town in south-west Wales, on July 5, 2024.

Richard Jones, 50, has admitted to manslaughter with diminished responsibility but has denied he murdered her, according to BBC.

Ms Evans had answered the door in a bathrobe after coming out of the shower, welcoming her father-in-law inside to help with some handy work around the house.

But a jury at Swansea Crown Court heard that police were called to the home later that day where they discovered Ms Evans “dead, naked, and face down” on the kitchen floor, having been attacked.

Mum-of-two Sophie Evans, 30, was killed by her father-in-law after she welcomed him into her home to do some handy work. Picture: Dyfed Powys Police

‘Fix the drains’

The court was told that Ms Evans and Mr Jones were known to each other because Ms Evans was in a relationship with Mr Jones’ son, Jamie Davies.

During the opening of the prosecution case on Tuesday, Mike Jones KC explained to the jury that Ms Evans had just returned home after dropping off her two children at school when the attack occurred.

Jones was described as a “regular visitor” who would come to the property to do “odd jobs.”

When Jones arrived at the house, Ms Evans let him in as they had agreed he would come and “fix the drains.”

‘Forceful and sustained pressure’

The court was shown Ring doorbell footage of Jones arriving at the home at 9:34am.

Ms Evans made several phone calls to her father shortly after, phone records show.

However, when her father tried to call her back at 9:39am, there was no answer and police said there was no activity on her phone.

The footage then shows Jones leaving the house at 10am and running to his car before returning to the house and leaving five minutes later with his hat and gloves, as per The Mirror.

He then drove straight to a bakery where he purchased a tuna roll and a custard slice before CCTV captured him arriving home at 10.29am.

He then left his home minutes later holding a yellow box and went to a park where he contacted several of his friends and family members.

The jury was told that Ms Evans suffered multiple injuries, including a neck fracture, blunt force trauma to the head, two black eyes, and bruising.

She ultimately died from being strangled with “forceful and sustained pressure to the neck during this assault.”

The jury heard the woman died after “forceful and sustained pressure to the neck” at her home in Carmarthenshire, Wales. Picture: Google

A text exchange

In one text exchange that morning with Jones and his ex-partner, Tracey Thompson, he called his son and Ms Evans “scamming thieves”, the BBC reported.

After an eight-minute phone conversation between the pair later that day at 4.48pm, he sent her a message that said, “Don’t say a word please.”

But Ms Thompson called the police to let them know what had happened and police arrived at the house at 5:23pm.

They found the mum’s body in the kitchen and Jones was arrested roadside at 8:02pm that night.

‘Rinsed by my own son’

Mr Jones KC told the court that a notepad was found in Jones’ car that had a message scrawled on it.

“I got scammed and rinsed by my own son so I dealt with it myself. Had no other choice,” it read.

He told jurors he had “lost his temper” after feeling scammed by his son and his partner.

Ms Evans moved into Mr Davies’ home in April 2023 and was paying the mortgage while he was remanded in jail and facing drug and money laundering charges.

He claimed he was “duped” into signing a document that stated that Ms Evans was a tenant and Jones was the landlord, as per The Sun.

However, Mr Jones KC said that this information was false and constituted fraud.

In the days leading up to Ms Evans’ death, Jones made several internet searches, including, “Is paternity fraud a crime in the UK?”, and “I was duped into signing a mortgage, is there a way out of it?”

Originally published as Mum killed after school run by father-in-law