A man has pleaded guilty to assaulting, raping and a murdering a woman after plying her with alcohol for his own ‘sexual enjoyment’. Simon Goold, 52, met Elizabeth McCann, aged 26, on a course at the Health and Wellbeing College in Ashton-under-Lyne.
In August last year, he saw her at a coffee morning at the college and later messaged her on Facebook and asked her to meet for a drink at the Star Inn pub on Old Street.
Goold bought Ms McCann, who was on medication and rarely drank alcohol, several rounds of vodka and coke, along with numerous shots of Sambuca, before taking her back to his flat in a taxi.
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During the trip back he sexually assaulted her, and then back at the flat he went on to rape her before using her t-shirt to strangle her which resulted in her death, Manchester Crown Court heard.
Goold, of Manchester Road, Ashton-under-Lyne, initially denied offences of murder, rape, sexual assault and assault by penetration, but following the first day of his trial, he had now pleaded guilty to all of the offences. He will be sentenced tomorrow (February 22).
Opening the case for the prosecution, Nick Johnson KC said: “This is a case of a man in his 50s targeting a much younger woman in her 20s who he knew to be vulnerable, plying her with enough alcohol to get her drunk, sexually assaulting her in a taxi when she was quite incapable of consenting, then when back at his flat carrying out further, brutal sexual assaults and rape, leaving her with significant and severe injuries.
“The Prosecution say the defendant obtained sexual enjoyment in her humiliation, a pleasure in inflicting injury and pain and provoking her fear. This sexual gratification came to its ultimate satisfaction in murdering her that night in his flat, probably by pulling her own t-shirt very tight around her neck, sustaining such pressure for a considerable period, causing first unconsciousness and then death.”
Goold plied her with alcohol before attacking her
On the first day of the trial being heard at Manchester Crown Court, it was said that Elizabeth, known to family as ‘Lizzie’ was receiving help for mental health issues, and had been attending courses at Health and Wellbeing College in Ashton-under-Lyne. It was during one of the courses that she met Goold over a year before.
On August 19 of last year, they were both at a coffee morning at the college. Days later, on August 24, Goold made multiple Facebook searches of her name before messaging her and asking to meet at the Star Inn pub.
The pair met that afternoon, after which he bought her vodka and coke, which was served in a double measure by the landlord, and Goold bought himself a pint of Strongbow.
They stayed in the beer garden for a number of hours, during which Goold went back to the bar three times and ordered another double vodka and coke, as well as three rounds of six shots of Sambuca.
“The prosecution suggest he was plying her with alcoholic drinks from the moment they met,” Mr Johnson continued. “At 4.07pm, CCTV shows Ms McCann staggering around the beer garden before she sits down and drinks three shots.
“The defendant then moves a fourth shot towards her - he is not drinking shots at this point. That’s before he ordered the third round.”
In the footage, she is seen to fall multiple times, and appears to stagger around before her and Goold leave the pub. He propped her up against a wall before they both got into a taxi, with the driver describing her as looking ‘out of it’.
He asked Goold if she was OK, and he replied: “Don’t worry about it, she’s just drunk.” Throughout the trip back to his flat he was ‘kissing her neck’ and touching her intimately whereas she remained staring straight ahead, unresponsive and ‘lifeless’.
They arrived at his flat shortly before 5pm that after, and Ms McCann is seen to fall over before Goold led her inside. After just 15 mins he had taken explicit pictures and videos of her on his mobile phone.
In a number of the videos described to the jury, Ms McCann appeared to have clothing around her neck. She can also be heard saying that it was ‘really painful'.
Neighbours told police they heard banging, arguing and crying during the evening, and one of them later received a text from Goold asking for help, and went upstairs to find Ms McCann naked and unconscious on the floor.
They moved her onto the bed, during which Goold told them she was too drunk. After they left he took another picture of her, the court heard.
“It was some time between taking that photo and the following morning that she was subjected to serious genital injuries and murdered by prolonged strangulation,” Mr Johnson said.
“The Prosecution say these facts plainly demonstrate the defendant gained a sexual thrill from causing serious pain, humiliation and fear. It supports the Prosecution case that his motive for the sexual assault, rape and murder of Elizabeth was the gratification of an extremely sadistic sexual desire.”
The following morning, August 25, he called 999, stating there was a ‘dead woman in his bed’. Officers went to his flat and found Ms McCann partially clothed with her top, trainers and mobile phone neatly placed nearby.
In a post mortem report, a pathologist found she had suffered 46 external and internal injuries, including ligature marks to her neck. He said he thought the marks could have been caused by a t-shirt held tight around her neck.
Following his plea, Craig Cleminson for the CPS said: “Simon Goold deliberately plied Elizabeth McCann with alcoholic drinks over a short period of time, before taking her back to his flat with the intention of taking advantage of her vulnerable state for his own sexual gratification.
“Throughout the case he claimed that Elizabeth had given her full consent to all that happened to her and that he had not intended to cause her harm. But on the second day of the trial he eventually pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting, raping and murdering her.
“I cannot begin to imagine the sense of loss Elizabeth’s family are experiencing; I would like to express my condolences to them. Nothing can bring her back, but I hope they take some comfort that Goold has been brought to justice for taking her away from them.”
Goold, of Manchester Road, will be sentenced tomorrow where he faces life imprisonment.
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