A MONSTER battered his girlfriend to death in a "savage" attack then told her family she died in a hit-and-run.

Alan Edney, 31, dumped murdered Kerry Owen, 35, in a ditch then covered her body in grass cuttings.

She was found by a dog walker alongside a remote country lane in Hopwood, Worcestershire, in a pool of blood.

Evil Edney spun a gruesome web of lies to cover his tracks – claiming Kerry had been killed in a hit-and-run.

He even said he had gone with her body to hospital and that he'd given a statement to police about the fake crash.

Edney has now been jailed for life with a minimum of 20 years after he was found guilty of murder.

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Worcester Crown Court heard the killer savagely beat Kerry to death before dumping her body.

He then spent the hours after the murder hatching a plan to evade justice.

After he was arrested, the monster continued to lie and claimed he was in bed at the time of Kerry's death.

His deceit was uncovered after police viewed CCTV and carried out house-to-house enquiries as part of the murder probe.

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How you can get help

Women’s Aid has this advice for victims and their families:

• Always keep your phone nearby.
• Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
• If you are in danger, call 999.
• Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without speaking down the phone, instead dialing “55”.
• Always keep some money on you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare.
• If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a lower-risk area of the house – for example, where there is a way out and access to a telephone.
• Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be shut into a cupboard or other small space.

If you are a ­victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support ­service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – [email protected].

Women’s Aid provides a live chat service – available weekdays from 8am-6pm and weekends 10am-6pm.

You can also call the freephone 24-hour ­National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.

Emily Clewer of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Edney cruelly assaulted an innocent woman who loved him and didn’t deserve to die in such an awful way.

"He subjected Kerry Owen to unimaginable violence, leaving her with devastating injuries that led to her death.

"He then spun a web of lies to evade prosecution and pretended to be a devastated partner, when in fact he had inflicted the terrible injuries on Ms Owen.

"Thankfully, the jury saw through his lies and today’s verdict has ensured that he will face the consequences of his actions.

"Our thoughts are with the family of Ms Owen, whose lives have been devastated by the actions of Edney.”

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