Darren Bernard John Osment

The offence

What the court heard

He was found guilty of murder in Bristol between 5 June 2012 and 8 June 2012. Sentencing remarks of the Honourable Mrs Justice Cutts DBE 1. Darren Osment, I am to sentence you today for the murder of Claire Holland. For this grave offence there is only one sentence prescribed by law and that is imprisonment for life. That is the sentence that I shall impose upon you in due course. However, I am required to determine the minimum period you should serve in prison before you are eligible to be considered for release on parole. 2. It is most important that you and everyone concerned with this case should understand what in fact this means. The minimum term is not a fixed term after which you will be automatically released but the minimum time that you will spend in custody before your case can be considered by the Parole Board and it will be for the Parole Board to say at that time whether or not you will be released. If they say you should not, you will remain in custody. If and when you are released you will be subject to licence and that will be the case for the rest of your life. If for any reason your licence were to be revoked, you would be recalled to prison to serve your life sentence in custody. 3. Claire Holland was aged 32 years at the time of her death in June 2012. It is clear from the deeply moving impact statements that I have heard and read that she was a warm and vivacious person who was deeply loved. She had experienced difficulty in her early life, but by 2012 was, in the words of her mother, starting a new chapter in her life. She had a new flat, had re-engaged with her family and she was engaged on a programme to stop drinking. She was rightly proud of herself and the efforts that she was making. She had high hopes that she would in time be able to have her children to live with her, children whose contact visits she never missed, no matter how difficult her life was at times. She was happy and optimistic about the future. 4. A fresh start was ahead of her. You robbed her of that fresh start. You robbed her of the future she deserved. You took her permanently from her supportive family who loved and cherished her. You took her from her children, all of whom (including your own son) have had to grow up without her presence and her love. They have understandably struggled to cope with her loss but you have made their suffering so much worse in the way that you have behaved since her death. You must face the consequences of your actions in…

Around this case

• Bristol Crown Court
• Prosecuted by CPS South West
• Investigated by Avon and Somerset Constabulary