The horrific final moments of a "beautiful" Leeds woman strangled to death by her own two-timing and "controlling" boyfriend have come to light.
Kirstie Ellis' body was discovered naked and hidden under a blanket in her home in Stanhall Mews, Stanningley, in March 2022. It is thought she may have been dead for several weeks before the traumatic discovery and only now do we know how she died and the sick man responsible for cutting her life short at just 35 years old.
Tony Brooks had been dating Kirstie for several months. However, rather than cherish her, he killed her so he could get his hands on her money as he went to elaborate lengths to cover up his heinous crimes.
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On the night she died, Brooks, 36, had been dropped off at Kirstie's house in Leeds by his other girlfriend at the time. It is not known how or why but he then began violently attacking her with police finding blood spattered across the living room.
It's thought he pummeled her with part of a coffee table and when the violence calmed down Kirstie was able to take herself up to the bathroom to wash the blood off her. However, it was here that her life ended as Brooks joined her in the bathroom and strangled her with a dressing gown cord and a HDMI cable.
In another sadistic twist, he also shoved two socks and a lint troller down her throat with the items cutting off her airways and suffocating her. With Kirstie dead, Brooks then shamelessly phoned his other girlfriend to pick up before running out of her house with a TV of hers in her arm. He went on to flog this for money and even managed to plunder £1,500 from her bank account.
Police think Kirstie was killed on February 1. Her body was discovered 52 days later on March 25 after Brooks was arrested on suspicion of a burglary in his home city of Wakefield.
He was interviewed in relation to that burglary and told police he knew about a murder committed by a drug dealer and that there was a body at an address in Stanhall Mews. Rather than confess, police eventually found he was forensically linked to the scene and had shockingly sold a number of her possessions in the period after her death.
Police then also found Kirstie's bank card and PIN number during a search of an address Brooks had been staying at in Castleford. It was later uncovered that he had sickenly tried to cover up his murder by logging into Kirstie's Facebook and messaging friends asking them if they wanted to meet her "new boyfriend".
Brooks, of Agbrigg Road, Wakefield, has been jailed for life and must serve a minimum of 24 years and nine months before he can be eligible for release.
In an emotional statement, Kirstie's parents, Vicky and John, and her devastated family who previously described Kirstie as a "beautiful soul", said Kirstie was "a beacon of light" and hope her story will shine a light on domestic abuse.
They said: "Our daughter Kirstie was a beacon of light to all those who were fortunate enough to have known her and who wanted to raise the awareness of domestic abuse after suffering through it herself. The problem of abuse has never gone away but is there hidden in plain sight behind closed doors, and now we unfortunately have lost our precious daughter and baby girl Kirstie to it.
“We remember Kirstie as a vibrant soul, Kirstie loved a drink, to dance and sing the night away. Kirstie's light will now forever shine bright in our family, among our friends and in all those who knew Kirstie's happiness. She will always be remembered for her sense of fun and joy, which has guided us through these troubling times."
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