A martial arts enthusiast has been jailed for life after stabbing his partner to death before holding captive a friend he believed to be her lover.
Jason Bell, 42, attacked Nicole Hurley, 37, with at least two knives at their home in Primrose Hill, north-west London, in the early hours of 10 October 2021.
Afterwards, Bell arrived at a friend’s house with a large army-style knife, accused him of sleeping with Hurley and used the friend’s van to drive through a police tape before checking himself into a mental health centre.
On Thursday, the Old Bailey judge Alexia Durran sentenced Bell to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 22 years and disqualified him from driving for 36 months upon his release.
Hurley had begun her relationship with Bell when she was a teenager, and it was described by prosecutor Michelle Nelson KC as “difficult and volatile” and “toxic”. Bell, who trained in martial arts at a club, would “explode” and punch and kick Hurley.
Hurley’s father, Tom, described a “brutal, cowardly and vicious crime”. He added: “Domestic violence should have no place in a modern, civilised society. To exert control over another person by taking advantage of their vulnerabilities, and slowly manipulating them behind the false pretence of some twisted idea of love is one of the most despicable, abhorrent behaviours.
“We’ve all lost a hugely important part of our family, and the thought that none of us will share our lives with Nicole ever again, and that she will miss so much of her children’s lives, deeply saddens us every day.”
A jury had deliberated for three hours and 42 minutes to find Bell guilty of murder, dangerous driving and false imprisonment earlier this year.
Hurley had repeatedly asked for an ambulance because she could not breathe but Bell took all the mobile phones before leaving the house. Bell stashed a rucksack containing six phones and a bloody knife in a garden in Victoria Mews, Maida Vale, near the home of his longstanding friend Jeremy Drewitt.
Bell then turned up at Drewitt’s home wearing a blood-stained dressing gown. He told Drewitt that he had stabbed Hurley and claimed he would hand himself in. He demanded to know if his friend had slept with Hurley, saying if he was not truthful it was going to end badly, before producing a foot-long knife.
Nelson said: “Drewitt pushed the defendant away when he got close and tried to get out of the flat. He was frightened that he was going to be stabbed.”
Later, Bell demanded Drewitt hand over the keys to his van and he drove through police cordon tape, where he was seen by a police officer.
Bell eventually slowed down in traffic, giving Drewitt the opportunity to undo his seatbelt and jump out of the moving vehicle and then make his way back to the cordon.
Rather than handing himself in, Bell walked into a mental health assessment centre in St Pancras and asked to be sectioned. Armed police went to arrest Bell at the centre, where he was Tasered before being taken into custody.
While in custody, Bell claimed Hurley had told him she was having a baby and that he was not the father – although jurors were told she was not pregnant at the time of her death.
DCI Jim Eastwood said: “Nicole had been attempting to remove herself from the relationship with Bell. She had been isolated and controlled due to his paranoia. It is only right that he spends considerable years of his life in a place where he can no longer hurt the innocent.”
• In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org.
