THE FAMILY of a murdered woman have described the devastating impact of the brutal attack.
Nelly Myers, 58, was found dead at her home in Rotherfield, Sussex, in December last year.
The British Airways worker was described as the “sunshine” of the village for her positive and caring outlook.
But brute Jayesh Gobar, who worked as a baggage handler at Gatwick Airport, exploited her kindness and love and inflicted a “savage” attack upon her.
Read more on this story:
- Jayesh Gobar jailed for life over Rotherfield murder
- Killer Jayesh Gobar spat all over Nelly Myers' home in a rage
At Hove Crown Court the 36-year-old was jailed for life for Nelly’s murder.
The court heard how the two had a “turbulent” and “passionate” dalliance with him visiting her at her home in Court Meadow Close.
But Nelly’s eldest son James Myers, 30, said Gobar became “darker and darker” as he undermined her confidence.
Gobar was previously jailed for robbing her, where he had throttled her and dragged her by the hair as he demanded cash for his drug use.
Then just weeks after his release from post-prison sentence curfew, Gobar went and killed Nelly.
Her estranged husband Kevin Myers, a British Airways pilot, and eldest son James gave statements about her.
Kevin said she remained the leader of the family, and said he had hoped to see her and his two sons for Christmas.
“Nelly loved Christmas and the message of Christmas,” he said, talking about her faith. “Instead of celebrating Christmas, we were planning for a funeral.
“I identified her body, and took a last look at her face that was bruised from ear to ear and from head to chin. That is an image that will be with me for the rest of my life.
“She had obviously died a brutal, slow death. I cannot comprehend the brutality of her death. She was a strong woman and would have fought for her life. But she didn’t have a chance.”
But Kevin also described how he had the character of his estranged wife.
He said: “Her presence, charm and charisma was incredible. She could handle people with great skill and deal with almost any situation. She was a great person to have by your side. I will miss that.
“Her colleagues at BA (British Airways) all knew a day was going to be easy when she was there because she was so good at her job.”
Kevin said Nelly remained a leader of the family both here in the UK, and for her extended family in Peru, where she was “adored” as a sister.
Meanwhile son James also read out a moving statement in court, saying how he had been looking forward to the future, only to have it “completely ripped away”.
He described his increasing panic after not getting any answer from her, and said when he was told she had been killed he felt “heartbroken”.
“We hoped it had been without suffering. But the brutal truth was quite the opposite. We found our family home was a crime scene. It felt like we had entered a horror movie.
“There was an ambulance and police cars outside, and as the day went on our worst fears were confirmed, a murder investigation had been launched.
Read more on this story: Jayesh Gobar killed Nelly Myers in a fit of rage over drugs cash
James said the media coverage weighed heavily upon him, and then said he went to Lewes Crown Court for Gobar’s plea hearing.
He said Gobar, 36, of Moorland Road, Maidenbower, chose to plead not guilty, and put his family through a year of hell with “excruciating” details emerging during the trial of how Nelly had died.
“I had to give evidence in my own mother’s murder trial, it is unbelievably messed up,” he said.
“The details have been completely horrifying to hear.I needed all the answers. But the sheer brutality of what happened was shown to be even worse than I could have fathomed, the violence she endured was overpoweringly painful.
“When we found out this was a murder, we all knew there was only one candidate. Jayesh Gobar became darker and darker. He used her and exploited her, and I saw how he gradually took away her confidence.
“His lack of remorse was galling. I am infuriated that he has made us go through this process.
“The manner he has conducted himself was the final betrayal of mum. This was a person for whom mum was such a caring person. She always saw the good in people and did her utmost to help.
“This man felt entitled to more than that. It beggars belief. I cannot believe that the reason my mum is not here is because of a taxi fare. It is so senseless.”
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