At Worcester Crown Court today (Friday 25 March), 25-year-old Charles Byrne was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum tariff of 16 years for the manslaughter of his former partner, 28-year-old Christina Rowe who lived in Worcester, and 13 ½ years, to run concurrently, for the attempted murder of another person who cannot be named for legal reasons. Ms Rowe’s body was found in the River Severn near Diglis footbridge on 10 February 2021.
Both incidents occurred during the early hours of 10 February 2021. In passing sentence, Mr Justice Edward Pepperall QC gave direction that initially Byrne would continue to be detained at a high security hospital under the Mental Health Act for treatment.
Byrne, formerly of Waterworks Road, Worcester, but now a patient at a high-security hospital, previously pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder but guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility at his trial in June 2021. He further pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of a second person at a subsequent hearing in December 2021.
Detective Inspector Mark Walters said today: “This was a horrendous attack resulting in the death of a young woman whilst in her own home and potential fatal injuries being caused to another person. The court have sentenced Charles Byrne accordingly taking in to consideration all of the surrounding circumstances. Our thoughts continue to remain with the family and friends of Christina and I hope that today’s judgement will provide them with some sense of closure going forward”.
