Sarah Brierley: Image showing Sheffield woman's bin-bag covered dead body found on phone of murder accused

Police recovered a picture of the bin bag-covered body of a Sheffield woman from a mobile phone shared by the couple accused of murdering her, a jury has heard. 

David Scott, aged 40, and Zoe Clark, 38, are currently on trial at Sheffield Crown Court, accused of murdering their former flatmate, Sarah Brierley, in February 2023, an offence both defendants have pleaded not guilty to.

The two defendants were in a relationship at the time of Sarah’s death, and had also been living with her in the weeks running up to it, the court heard. 

Police discovered 49-year-old Sarah’s body at her flat in Skelton Close, Woodhouse, Sheffield, with ‘serious trauma to her head’ at just after 8am on February 20, 2023, but the extent of ‘decomposition’ suggests she is likely to have died some days earlier, the jury of seven women and five men have previously been told. 

A Home Office pathologist who examined Sarah's body determined she had suffered severe injuries to her head, which had fractured the skull, and were consistent with being caused by multiple blows - at least five. with a blunt weapon inflicted with severe force.

The deleted image which allegedly shows Sarah's dead body

During the second day of the trial today (Wednesday, October 11, 2023), prosecutor David Brooke KC continued to outline the Crown’s case against Mr Scott and Ms Clark; and described what the prosecution believe a deleted image recovered from the dual-SIM mobile phone handset shared by the defendants shows. 

"It is a picture of the body in situ covered by a black bin-bag," Mr Brooke said, as the jury were directed to look at the retrieved picture in the bundle of evidence provided. He added: "It’s her [Sarah’s] body, isn’t it?"

Mr Brooke explained that pictures deleted on a mobile device can still be recovered by police, in the form of a thumbnail; and in the case of the ‘thumbnail’ image the prosecutor suggested showed Sarah’s dead body, it was date-stamped at 1.08pm on February 14, 2023. 

"For reasons you will hear about…this is not the time that the photo was taken but the time that the item was cached," Mr Brooke told the jury.

"When Sarah’s body was found, there was of course no black bag covering it. It was in a duvet with the head exposed. There also wasn’t any obvious blood spatter although there was some blood staining on the floor near the settee. That may fit you may think with Sarah Brierley being covered when she was attacked," Mr Brooke said, but noted that the bag placed over Sarah in the recovered picture may not necessarily have been the item or items used to ‘cover’ her during the deadly assault. 

"There were other signs which pointed towards something even more sinister in the manner of her death.  In her mouth was a bloodstained rag which was pushed right to the back of the mouth and on the floor near the body were some small blue grains of what proved to be rat poison," Mr Brooke said yesterday (Tuesday, October 11, 2023).

He said there was no evidence Sarah had 'ingested' the rat poison, but that does not mean there was not an 'attempt to make her swallow it'.

A receipt belonging to Ms Clark, which matches with a bank entry for a purchase at a City Living store in Sheffield, suggests the bought rat poison on February 13, the day before prosecutors believe Sarah was murdered, the court heard.

Mr Brooke told the jury that items at Sarah's flat, including a television and an air-fryer, seen in pictures recovered from the defendants' phone, were not present when police discovered Sarah's body. The court also heard how neighbours reported seeing a man and a woman, who the prosecution claim are the two defendants, 'coming and going' in the days after she died; and were captured carrying bags of items away from her flat on a number of occasions.

Prosecution lay out possible timeline for Sarah's death

Mr Brooke told the jury yesterday that Sarah’s friend, Darren Turner, left her flat at 2.46am on February 14, a short time after Mr Scott of Abbeyfield Road, Pitsmoor, Sheffield arrived there; and was subsequently captured on CCTV at 2.56am walking with his dog away from Sarah’s flat. 

Mr Brooke said this, combined with the time the purported picture of Sarah’s body was cached, placed the time frame for her murder as being between 2.46am and 1.08pm on February 14, 2023. 

Jurors were also told that while neither defendant’s blood was found at the murder scene, a ‘footprint in blood’ was discovered; and Mr Brooke said an ‘expert’ had matched the footprint to a type of Adidas trainers worn by Mr Scott, adding that he was captured on CCTV wearing that same type of trainer in a Sheffield Co-Op branch around a week earlier on February 7, 2023. 

At just after 2pm on February 14, 2023, the day Sarah is believed to have suffered the fatal head injuries, telephone evidence shows that the SIM cards of both defendants were placed into the handset of Sarah’s phone, which has never been recovered. 

The court also heard how both defendants had been in very constant phone contact with Sarah in the days running up to her death; and while other friends and acquaintances continued to try and get hold of her as she lay dead in her living room, neither Ms Clark nor Mr Scott attempted to make any contact with her during this time.

Mr Brooke said the last contact either defendant had with Sarah was a text message sent from Mr Scott’s phone at 00.17am on February 14, 2023, just over two hours before the last sighting of Sarah alive. 

'Love letter' shows Sarah had 'strong feelings' for defendant Zoe Clark, prosecution claim

Mr Brooke told jurors that while the prosecution cannot tell them ‘why’ the attack upon Sarah took place, there were a number of issues at play around the time she died including her ‘crush’ on, and ‘really quite strong feelings’ for, Ms Clark.

He read excerpts of a ‘love letter’ Sarah is believed to have sent to Ms Clark, which police discovered in her flat following her death. In it, she describes Ms Clark as her ‘princess’ and ‘angel,’ said Ms Clark had gotten ‘under’ her ‘skin,’ and claimed her feelings for Ms Clark were more ‘powerful’ and ‘addictive’ than any drug, including ‘crack and heroin’. 

"Was this the reason for the attack? Jealousy on David Scott’s part or anger," Mr Brooke told jurors, as he told them they were due to hear evidence from a witness who would ‘hint’ at that. 

Another issue in the ‘background’ was ‘money,’ Mr Brooke suggested.

The jury have previously been told that both defendants and Sarah were habitual drug users, and Ms Clark had arranged for her ‘benefits’ money to be paid into Sarah’s bank account. 

Mr Brooke said for ‘at least some of the day’ on February 13, both defendants were using her bank card, and a £800 payment from the DWP (Department of Work and Pensions) made at midnight that day had been whittled down to zero by the early hours of February 14. 

"Before their arrest the following week, there is evidence of incriminating admissions that each of them made to others about what had happened to Sarah including David Scott telling someone 'he had done it' and in a text message from the handset that the sender was 'looking at 20 years'. Ms Clark said to one person: 'We are going down for murder,'" Mr Brooke said. 

The court was told how a witness claimed to have been present for a conversation at the home of one of Ms Clark’s friends, in which Mr Scott allegedly said he had ‘killed’ Sarah because she had been treating Ms Clark like ‘s**t,’ that she ‘had it coming’ and he was ‘proud’ of what he had done. 

'To be guilty of murder it is not necessary to actually strike the fatal blow'

Concluding the opening of the prosecution case, Mr Brooke said that of the two defendants,  the ‘strong likelihood’ is that it was David Scott who actually inflicted the fatal injuries upon Sarah especially given what he said to others after the event. 

Mr Brooke added that there was ‘strong evidence’ Ms Clark also ‘played her part’. 

He told the jury: "We say that the evidence points to them stripping the flat of Sarah Brierley’s property together, using her bank card, her phone. The two remained together over those seven or so days after the murder, and you have seen how they acted together getting rid of evidence and making arrangements to leave the area together.  

"To be guilty of murder, it is not necessary to actually strike the fatal blow.  If you are an active participant in the sense of intentionally encouraging or assisting the person who carries out the attack to do so, then subject to the directions of law that his Lordship will direct you about, a person may also be guilty of murder."

The defendants' pleas

Both Mr Scott and Ms Clark have entered not guilty pleas to charges of murder and theft.

Mr Scott has also denied an additional charge of robbery.

The trial continues.