A couple who beat, tortured and starved a vulnerable 28-year-old man in their care to death have been jailed for 21 years each. Rubin Blount was described as a "walking skeleton" when he was taken to hospital with a host of injuries inflicted by his stepbrother Kenneth Newton, 57, and his partner Melanie James, 63.
The Birmingham pair, who filmed themselves mocking and abusing the victim, were convicted of Mr Blount's murder by a jury at the same court in July this year. Mr Blount had been left to lie in his own urine, made to "stand to attention" and eat out of bins, the court heard.
A member of public in the court shouted “rot in hell” as they were sent down on Friday after Mrs Justice Jefford jailed them. The judge said both Newton and James were in a position of trust which they had abused and had shown an “abject failure to help him when he was in pain and suffering”.
Hospital and injuries
The court heard Mr Blount, who was severely dehydrated and malnourished, had been taken to hospital after he became unwell and suffered a cardiac arrest upon arrival. He was resuscitated but remained in a critical condition until he died three days later on November 30, 2022.
While in hospital, doctors found Mr Blount had extensive pneumonia, severe infection, fractures to his ribs and spine and burns, lesions and grazes. An investigation by Staffordshire Police found Mr Blount’s appearance and intellect had been mocked by Newton and James and he had 50 rib fractures, 47 of which had been inflicted in the weeks leading up to his death. Police also found “abhorrent” conditions and mould in his bedroom.
Court statements
Prosecution counsel Jennifer Josephs KC told Newton and James’ sentencing hearing on Friday that the victim must have been in “extreme pain and suffering” before his death. She said Mr Blount, who was described as “considerably mentally impaired”, was particularly vulnerable and that the defendants’ “cruel” behaviour towards him was demonstrated in videos shown to the jury.
The pair also denied the victim access to medical care until he was “beyond help”, Ms Josephs said. James, who wore a white T-shirt, a grey jacket and blue jeans in the dock, sobbed and wiped tears as Ms Josephs told the court the abuse and violence inflicted on Mr Blount went on for months. She said: “Mr Blount’s death was the culmination of a prolonged course of conduct perpetrated against a man who was unable to speak for himself.”
Newton, who wore a dark grey jumper and light grey Nike tracksuit bottoms in the dock, leaned forward and kept his head down. In a victim impact statement read to the court by Ms Josephs, Mr Blount’s mother Jeanette Blount said her son was vulnerable and deserved “compassion, dignity and a chance to live his life”. She said: “We all believed they loved him and would take care of him. We had no reason to believe otherwise. I never believed there would come a time Rubin would no longer be here. He was more than a victim. He was a son, a brother and friend and a person who was deeply loved by so many people – not just us, but people who knew him in the community. His life mattered and his loss has been felt by us all. No sentence can bring back our son or take away the trauma that we now carry. The grief is constant. He deserved compassion, dignity and a chance to live his life. His future was stolen and our family must now live with a lifetime of heartbreak.”
Defence pleas and sentencing
Defending James, Rebecca Wade KC urged Mrs Justice Jefford to offer the female defendant “light at the end of the tunnel and something to work towards” as she acknowledged she would not be released until she was at least 80. She said: “No one could fail to be moved by the emotive nature of the trial and what Rubin Blount went through in his life. No one could fail to be disgusted by Melanie James’ actions towards this vulnerable man. She is a woman who has had a difficult life of her own. A phrase used by me during my closing speech to the jury was walk a mile in my shoes, and I repeat those words now. Her background doesn’t excuse what she has done, but recognition of it goes some way to provide some sort of explanation for it. A common phrase is ‘the abused becomes the abuser’ and that is something that may well be true in Melanie James’ case. There is some evidence to show that, at one point, she did care for Rubin and did love him, and him her. Something shifted and we would submit that such a shift was her ability to cope with the stresses and strains of life and that was much to Rubin’s detriment.”
Mark Heywood KC, defending Newton, said through no fault of his own, Mr Blount was a “challenging” person to care for. He said: “This is a case where only really serious harm was intended, not death. There was evidence in the trial that Mr Blount had been a challenging person to care for, not through any fault of his own. This relationship did start off well and with good hopes, it was hoped it would prove a sanctuary for Rubin. What caused it to deteriorate in the manner that led to his death can’t be dealt with as simply as saying he was financially advantageous for them, or that he became a burden. He must have been, with the best will in the world, a demanding young man. They were ill equipped.”
Passing sentence, Mrs Justice Jefford said Mr Blount had “more or less disappeared from view” and had not left the house for around two months before his death. She said a series of videos made by the defendants on November 2 2022 showed how the defendants treated Mr Blount. She said: “(They) show Rubin emaciated, gaunt, stooped and broken, standing in the doorway. You accused him of putting on his poor physical state, you mocked him, you flung abuse at him… you laughed and seemed to find this abhorrent behaviour amusing. He was unable to defend himself or even walk away from you. The first 25 rib fractures were inflicted before or shortly after this recording was made.”
She added: “It would have been obvious that punching him would cause really serious harm and yet you did it again. The jury were sure, as am I, that you did this together and that whether one or both of you were assaulting him, the other was encouraging it.” The judge said Mr Blount would have been in “significant and debilitating pain”, adding: “You did nothing for him. In fact, you assaulted him again and again. You did nothing to help him.”
She said she had “no doubt” the defendants only finally took action to get Mr Blount help out of concern for what would happen to them. She said: “You tried to portray yourself as kind and caring. Kenneth Newton, almost the first thing you said to police was about falls Rubin had had. I have no doubt you were trying to create the impression he would regularly injure himself.” The judge said James had told “wicked lies” about Mr Blount to the council and social services and others. She said: “You claimed he was becoming aggressive, threatening and even violent and that he was searching online for child pornography. These were wicked lies, but you were sufficiently convincing to make people think you were a victim. Why you did this is unclear… it may have been to cover what was really happening in the home.” There were whispers of “yes” in the public gallery when the judge handed down her sentence.
