Woman Gets Life Sentence For Murdering Autistic Man She Had Sex With

A woman in the U.K. was sentenced to life in prison Monday for recruiting her two friends to drown an autistic man with whom she had sex.

The body of Joe Pooley, 22, was found in the River Gipping in Ipswich by a dog walker on Aug. 13, 2018, days after the two associates of Becki West-Davidson, 30, attacked him and held him under the water until he died.

West-Davidson and her pals, identified as Sebastian Smith, 35, of Ramsay Road in Hawick, Roxburghshire, and Sean Palmer, 31, of Great Yarmouth, and a fourth suspect, Lisa-Marie Smith, 26, were all charged with murder following an investigation, Suffolk police said in a statement.

West-Davidson, Smith and Palmer denied their involvement in the murder but were found guilty during a trial, according to Belfast Telegraph. West-Davidson is set to serve a minimum term of 17 years while Smith and Palmer will serve 21 years and 18 years, respectively, for their direct involvement in Pooley’s killing, the outlet said. Meanwhile, the fourth suspect was cleared of the murder charge.

West-Davidson slept with Pooley the night before the man was killed. The woman reportedly sent "bragging" texts to Smith, which angered him. Smith then sent threatening messages to Pooley via Facebook over the course of 12 hours, reported BBC News.

Pooley was lured out of his home late on August 6, 2018, and was taken to an apartment where he underwent interrogation. He was also made to consume alcohol even though he wasn't used to it. Smith and Palmer, who were supposed to walk him home, threw him in the river afterward.

Judge Martyn Levett said the murder had stemmed from "sexual jealously." "This is all to do with sexual jealousy, because of the relationship between the three of you," Levett explained.

The court heard that Pooley had been a target of bullying due to his attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, Asperger's syndrome and autism. "Joe Pooley infiltrated a particular group of people ... those messages indicate that his sexual encounter caused Sebastian Smith to feel aggressive, angry and hostile towards Joe Pooley," Levett added.

"He was only after a good loving heart - you broke his heart and toyed with his emotions," Levett told West-Davidson.