Two women convicted of murdering woman in Braintree flat
Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 8 Oct, 15:14 · Archive
Charlotte James and Amy Keely have been convicted of murdering Helen Bloomfield in her Braintree flat in March 2024.
Charlotte James, 29, and Amy Keely, 40, have been convicted of murdering Helen Bloomfield, 52, in her Braintree flat on 20 March 2024. James and Keely were friends with Mrs Bloomfield and regularly went to her address where the three of them took illegal drugs together.
The pair suffocated and stabbed Mrs Bloomfield before leaving her for dead. Her body lay undiscovered for 30 days until 19 April, when a friend became concerned he had not heard from her and climbed through the window of her flat.
James and Keely were not charged with murder until April this year, when both denied the offence. At Chelmsford Crown Court, jurors heard that Mrs Bloomfield's flat had been ransacked and that she suffered 44 cuts on her body. Two stab wounds were each 7 centimetres deep.
Prosecuting counsel Julian Evans KC told the court that Keely had admitted to four people that she had taken part in violence directed at Mrs Bloomfield inside the flat. According to the prosecution account, Keely had stabbed Mrs Bloomfield while James had sat on her chest or suffocated her.
In a police interview, James denied any involvement in Mrs Bloomfield's death or telling anyone she was part of it. When asked why her DNA was found in Mrs Bloomfield's flat, she suggested it came from crack cocaine use, saying: 'When you smoke crack, you get wire mesh – when you break it on your hands... I've got loads of scars, right.'
How it is being reported
- Pictured: the two killers who brutally murdered drug user in Braintree flatThese are the women who murdered Helen Bloomfield in her Braintree flat two years ago.Colchester Gazette · 8 Oct, 14:49
- Pictured: the two killers who brutally murdered drug user in Braintree flatThese are the women who murdered Helen Bloomfield in her Braintree flat two years ago.Echo (Basildon) · 8 Oct, 14:49
- Pictured: the two killers who brutally murdered drug user in Braintree flatThese are the women who murdered Helen Bloomfield in her Braintree flat two years ago.Brentwood Guardian · 8 Oct, 14:49
In this story: Charlotte James · Amy Keely · Helen Bloomfield · Julian Evans · Braintree · Chelmsford Crown Court
This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem
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