Rachel Hudson

Infobox Person
name = Rachel Manger Hudson


image_size =
caption =
birth_date = 1984
birth_place =
death_date = 17 March, 2004
death_place = Nottingham
education = Lutterworth Grammar School
occupation = Hairdresser
title =
spouse = Craig Hudson
parents = Helen Woodier and Barry Manger
children = two
nationality = English
website =

Rachel Manger Hudson (born 1984; died 17 March, 2004) [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/4466800.stm "Family starved and beat Rachel"] , Catehrine Cashmore, "BBC News", 21 December, 2005] was a British murder victim, a mother of two, murdered by her in-laws. The court tried and convicted five members of the family (dubbed "the family from hell" by the Queen's Counsel) [http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=729&id=2079372005 "Mother 'killed by her in-laws'"] , by Rhiannon Edward, "The Scotsman", 13 October, 2005] [http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16242417&method=full&siteid=94762&headline=murder-court-told-of--family-from-hell--name_page.html "Murder Court Told of 'Family From Hell'"] , by Steve Mccomish, "The Daily Mirror", 13 October, 2005] in December 2005.

Early life

Rachel Manger was the daughter of Helen Woodier and Barry Manger, who separated when she was a teenager. She had two younger sisters, Jennifer and Hannah. [http://www.hucknalltoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=743&ArticleID=1298667 "'Evil' people who killed lovely girl"] , "Hucknall Today", 29 December, 2005] She came from Leicestershire, where she was a student at Lutterworth Grammar School, worked as a hairdresser, and enjoyed going to fun fairs. At the age of 16, she met fairground worker Craig Hudson at a fun fair in Nottingham, and married him a few months later, in November 2002. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/12/22/nhudson22.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/12/22/ixhome.html "Family jailed for daughter-in-law's murder"] , by Nick Britten, "The Daily Telegraph", 22 December, 2005] [http://www.hucknalltoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=743&ArticleID=1223569 "Court told 20-year-old was murdered by 'family from hell'"] , "Hucknall Today", 17 October, 2005] Her mother tried to stop the marriage, and refused to go to the wedding, considering the family "evil". She had a child from a previous relationship, and would have a son with Craig.

By February 2003, she was working at the Highfields Nursing Home in Bulwell, and living with the Hudson family, on Overdale Road, in the Stockhill area of Nottingham. Co-worker Penny Taylor described her as changing from "outgoing, talkative" to "quiet and unforthcoming".

The house was overcrowded, and she and her husband moved several times, first in December 2003 to Goverton Square, Bulwell, then, after complaining to the Nottingham City Council that they were still being harassed by their overbearing family, to temporary accommodation in St Anns, Nottingham. The family reported them missing so the police would reveal their address; Craig applied to be re-housed in Lincolnshire to escape the family's influence, but that application was rejected. When no permanent place became available, the Hudsons moved back to the family home in Stockhill, where the violence towards her began.

ystematic abuse

After the attempt to escape into a home of her own with Craig, Rachel Hudson lived in family home in Overdale Road, Stockhill as a virtual prisoner. She wasn't allowed to speak to her parents or even her husband. She was only let out of the house with 'a minder'. The Hudsons feared she would take Craig away from them. After initially siding with his wife, Craig joined the other Hudsons in participating in the abuse. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/4544940.stm "Murder victim was devoted mother"] , Catherine Cashmore, BBC News, 21 December, 2005]

She was subjected to regular beatings, some with a baseball bat known as "Mr Woody" and a piece of wood known as "Captain Plank". She was made to eat cat food.

On November 21, 2003, the Hudsons forced Rachel to make a videotaped "confession", in which she claimed she tried to split up the family, wanted to kill her children, had stolen money from her husband, and had enjoyed working as a prostitute. [http://www.hucknalltoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=743&ArticleID=1267584 "Rachel 'forced into confession'"] , "Hucknall Today", 27 October, 2005] This would be her last recorded sighting alive, and her parents last heard from her five months before her death. From December 2003, the Hudsons denied any knowledge of where she was, and claimed she had abandoned her family to run off with another man.

In January 2004, copies of a letter from Rachel were sent to her father, police, and Nottingham City Council social services, saying cquote|You must stop sending the police to the Hudsons' house. They have done nothing wrong. Please leave me being your lost little girl alone... If you start causing trouble for me I'll make sure the Hudsons make trouble for you.

Death

Her battered body was found 18 March, 2004, in a rolled-up carpet on the grounds of Newstead Abbey, Nottinghamshire. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/nottinghamshire/3628915.stm "Family make death clues appeal"] , "BBC News", April 15, 2004] It weighed only six stone (84 lb or 36 kg), and was covered with burns and bruises. There were a total of 60 separate injuries. Her ear was scarred and swollen, had split in half, and become infected; her mouth was injured so much that her bottom lip had detached. [http://www.hucknalltoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=743&ArticleID=1235676 "Dead mum's horrific list of injuries"] , "Hucknall Today", 27 October, 2005] She had eleven broken ribs. The ultimate cause of death had been thrombosis from a blood clot in her brain, brought on by septicaemia, dehydration and repeated assaults. [http://www.hucknalltoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=743&ArticleID=1298670 "Torturers given life"] , "Hucknall Today", 29 December, 2005] The injuries were such that police at first thought they had found the body of a young boy. Police took weeks to identify her, launching an appeal on the BBC TV programme "Crimewatch" and consulting Interpol. She had been 20 years old.

Trial

On 21 December, 2005, Craig Hudson, Rachel's husband, Craig's parents, Ron and Trudi Hudson, his brother Ronald, and Elisabeth Hogg, who lived with the family as the girlfriend of another brother, Shane, were convicted of her murder. The Hudson parents were sentenced to a minimum of 20 years, Ronald Junior to a minimum of 17 years, and Craig and Hogg to a minimum of 14 years each. Shane, Charlene, and Emile Hudson were convicted of conspiring to pervert the course of justice by covering up the repeated abuse, and later sentenced to 4 years imprisonment, 3 and a half years imprisonment, and 3 years supervision respectively. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/nottinghamshire/4671910.stm "Teenager jailed for murder lies"] "BBC News", 1 February, 2006]

ee also

*Rosemary West
*Charlene Ellis

References

* [http://society.guardian.co.uk/crimeandpunishment/story/0,8150,1683187,00.html "Cloaked in horror"] , Julie Bindel, January 11, 2006, "The Guardian".