A man has been found guilty of manslaughter in connection with the death of a woman whose body was discovered in a wooded area weeks after nearby residents reported hearing screams and alerted the authorities.
Mohammed Durnion, who strangled Reanne Coulson, a mother of two, and then buried her in a shallow grave on the outskirts of Coventry, has been acquitted of murder by the Warwick Crown Court. The incident took place at Durnion’s flat in Coventry on May 21 last year, after which he placed her body in a suitcase and disposed of it four miles away in Binley Woods. Her body was not found until June 27, more than three weeks after her death.
Following more than 10 hours of deliberation over four days, jurors at Warwick Crown Court cleared Mohammed Durnion of murder but convicted him of manslaughter by an 11-1 majority verdict. Additionally, his co-defendant and friend, Adam Moore, aged 39, was found guilty by an 11-1 majority verdict of aiding an offender by participating in the disposal of Reanne Coulson’s body the day after she was strangled. Durnion remained composed as the verdicts were delivered.
Judge Kristina Montgomery KC provided the jury of seven women and five men with a majority direction, after which the verdicts were reached within eight minutes.
A neighbor reported hearing Reanne screaming and calling for help weeks before her body was discovered. Although the police searched Durnion’s flat at the time, they did not locate Reanne’s body, which Durnion later confessed to concealing under a mattress.
During the trial, 42-year-old Durnion claimed that Reanne had died from a suspected overdose following an argument at his flat on Paynes Lane. He admitted to placing her in a suitcase and driving her to the wooded area out of fear of being held responsible for her death.
Prosecutors alleged that Durnion launched a sudden and intentional attack on Reanne, resulting in her death, before feigning a mental health crisis upon the arrival of the police. He was recorded on police video footage indicating the location where he buried the victim, stating, “under there.”
In the footage, Durnion was questioned about the depth of the burial, to which he responded, “Deep enough,” and mentioned using a shovel to dig the hole for her remains.
Durnion is scheduled to be sentenced at a later date.