Age: 41 (61 after sentence)
Sex: male
Crime: murder
Date Of Sentence: 11 Dec 2023 (for 20 years)
End Of Full Sentence: 11 Dec 2043
Place: Seamus ODonnells, St Nicholas Street, Bristol
Source: www.bristolpost.co.uk
Darren Osment was convicted of the murder of his ex-partner Claire Holland.
He killed her in a drunken argument after she left the Seamus O’Donnell’s pub in St Nicholas Street, Bristol at around 11.15pm on 6 June 2012.
He was later convicted in December 2023.
Her body has not been found.
In 2019 he called 999 and admitted murdering her, but later retracted his confession.
During the police investigation however, they recorded repeated confessions by him regarding her murder.
In one recording he said, 'She ain't going to be seeing the light of day again, don't worry about that'.
In another recording he stated that he had learned knife skills whilst training as a chef and ran his hand across his torso whilst making a swishing sound to indicate that he had cut her body up.
He also said, 'Like I said, I'm not going to go into any details, I did what I did, I did what I done and'. He also said, 'It makes me feel sick. But I did it for (my child)'.
The court heard that he had confessed to six different people:
It was noted that undercover police officer witnessed many examples of his violent temper, particularly when drinking. The prosecution stated:
The police noted that the undercover work revealed details about the murder that otherwise would have remained unknown.
A detective said, 'We discovered he had lured Claire to the pub where he worked as a chef in Clifton on the evening of Wednesday June 6, 2012. He killed her and then disposed of her body, we believe most likely in water. He got rid of the physical evidence, through burning his clothes and disposing of a knife he claimed to have used'.
The prosecution submitted that it was the burden of his guilt that had led him to make his repeated confessions.
The prosecution said:
However, Darren Osment said that his confessions were the ramblings of a drunken idiot. When he was asked why he had made them he said, 'Drinking too much, trying to big myself up, make myself out to be something I am not, the combination of the three'.
