Bodycam Footage Reveals Killer's Chilling Confession After Police Search Failure
In a shocking case that has exposed critical police oversights, a groundworker who confessed to burying a mother in a shallow grave was filmed by police bodycam pointing out the deposition site. This occurred five weeks after officers failed to locate her body hidden under a mattress in his squalid Coventry home during an initial search.
Failed Police Response and Initial Search
The court heard that cocaine addict Mohammed Durnion's neighbour dialled 999 after hearing a woman 'screaming in fear' inside his flat on May 21. Although police arrived just 12 minutes after the emergency call, officers who searched the property in Coventry, West Midlands, failed to find mother-of-two Reanne Coulson, 33. The 'powerfully-built' Muslim convert had stashed the 5ft 1in woman's 'dead or dying' body in a duvet concealed beneath a mattress in the cluttered residence after killing her while high on cocaine.
Bodycam Confession and Burial Details
In footage released by police following Durnion's conviction for manslaughter, the handcuffed killer is seen gesturing to officers who had asked where he had buried Ms Coulson. He replies: 'she is under there' and states the body is 'deep enough'. When an officer asks: 'Is she wrapped in anything?' Durnion responds 'No, no, no no'. He then confirms he used a shovel to bury her remains.
Additional bodycam footage shows the moment a panting Durnion answers his front door to police, telling officers 'I've had a really rough day…please leave me alone' on May 21. A third clip reveals police searching the address by mobile phone torchlight because Durnion's landlord had the electricity switched off over his failure to pay rent.
Trial Outcome and Sentencing
Durnion, 42, was cleared of murder by a jury at Warwick Crown Court but convicted of manslaughter by a majority of 11-1. His co-defendant Adam Moore was convicted of assisting an offender by the same majority. Both men will be sentenced on Thursday, with Judge Kristina Montgomery KC thanking the jury for dealing with the evidence 'as calmly and as carefully as you plainly have'.
Discovery of the Body and Evidence
Jurors were told that former company director Durnion became distressed on June 27 and told officers he would take them to the burial site at Binley Woods, on the outskirts of Coventry. By that time, officers were already searching the woodland after Durnion and fellow groundworker Moore, 39, had transported her to the woods in a suitcase by car. They only realised when they arrived that her phone was amongst her belongings and still transmitting a signal.
Ms Coulson's body was set alight with petrol before being buried in an attempt to destroy forensic evidence, and possibly even her identity, the court heard. Durnion then drove away with her phone, throwing it out of his car window, at which point the signal deactivated. However, police were able to link the handset to the journey taken by the vehicle from Durnion's flat to the woods in the early hours of May 22.
Attack Details and Victim's Background
The trial heard that once-married Durnion had attacked Ms Coulson, a sex worker who was known to take drugs, within a minute of shepherding her into his flat. He had chanced upon Ms Coulson after she had visited a church foodbank that night. At 11.26pm, almost two hours after Ms Coulson was filmed on CCTV leaving the foodbank, a neighbour dialled 999 and reported hearing a woman 'screaming in fear'.
When police arrived 12 minutes later, the flat was quiet and littered with rubbish and pet faeces. A 'sweating and agitated' Durnion initially refused entry without a warrant, then faked a mental health crisis before eventually running away into the night, leaving police to search the cluttered property. He was later seen smirking by a witness while carrying the suitcase he had used to move the body, and went on a drugs binge before his arrest.
Police Review and Family Impact
Detective Inspector Nigel Box explained: 'He covered her up in the duvet and he pulled a mattress on top of her, which, given the state of the place, didn't look out of place. So sadly, Reanne wasn't found during that initial search.' Once officers had left the address, Durnion returned and within hours had moved the body.
Ms Coulson's remains were found after Durnion, in his police interview, was played an emotional media appeal by her family for information over her disappearance. DI Box stated: 'It was ultimately the family's appeals that were played to him at the end of the interview process that I think convinced (Durnion) to do, in his mind, the right thing and take us to the body of Reanne'.
West Midlands Police confirmed: 'A review of the circumstances around the search of the premises was carried out by our Professional Standards Department. No misconduct was identified although some opportunities for learning were identified and implemented. We informed Reanne's family of the review and expressed our regret we were not able to find her on the 21 May.'
Medical Evidence and Legal Proceedings
A post mortem examination found the cause of death was unascertained. The examination revealed head and neck injuries, including bruising, were inflicted on Ms Coulson while she was alive, while burn injuries to her face and side were caused after death. Prosecutor Timothy Cray KC suggested these injuries occurred 'as if someone had tried to destroy that part of her body, or maybe her identity'.
During his trial opening, Mr Cray stated: 'We say that the timing and circumstances suggest that this was a deliberate attack by a powerfully-built man, on a vulnerable and defenceless woman who he had taken back to his address.' The jury took just over ten hours to convict both Durnion and Moore, who had denied assisting an offender by helping dispose of Ms Coulson's body.
