Justice for Women

On 8 March 2016, after a 12-day trial at Manchester Crown Court, 42 year old Sharon Edwards—a mother of four—was unanimously convicted of murdering her husband, David Edwards. She was sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum term of 20 years. The prosecution and media portrayed her as a violent, bullying wife. But behind the headlines lies a more complex and troubling story—one of trauma, coercion, and a woman failed by the justice system.

Sharon

Sharon’s life has been marked by violence and trauma. At just 16, she became pregnant and by 17, she was living alone in rented accommodation, raising her first child. Her relationship with the son’s father was on and off and he was often violent to her, including stabbing her in the leg with a shard of glass which led to 5 stiches. During this time, she became pregnant again and gave birth to her second child.

Abuse followed Sharon into adulthood. In 1998, she married ‘Steve’, with whom she had her third child. ‘Steve’ too was violent. The marriage ended the following year, with Sharon bravely giving evidence against him in court. It was during this hearing that she first encountered David Edwards, who was then acting as ‘Steve’s’ defence solicitor. It would be another 15 years before they would meet again.

Her next relationship, with ‘Mark’, was emotionally and financially abusive. A custody dispute over their child escalated when ‘Mark’ tried to drive off with their daughter. In a desperate attempt to stop him, Sharon bit his arm. She was later convicted of common assault and criminal damage—an incident that would be used in court to characterise her as aggressive.

As a single mother of four children, Sharon then continued to raise her family alone while working to support them. Her eldest son begun to display violent behaviour from the age of around 10, and by 2008 he had become increasingly physically abusive towards Sharon. Incidents included him smothering her with a pillow and holding a knife to her neck. A traumatic experience from which she has never fully recovered. Sharon’s longstanding struggles with anxiety, depression, and premenstrual dysphoric disorder worsened following these assaults, and she spent time in a psychiatric unit as a result.

In 2014, David Edwards, the solicitor who represented Sharon’s violent husband ‘Steve’, sent Sharon a friend request via Facebook, a relationship formed very quickly and they married a year later. They came from very different social economic backgrounds, her a working class single mother and him an educated partner of a law firm. David already knew a lot about Sharon’s past and her vulnerabilities from his work on her ex-husband’s case. He would often taunt her about her past and often make demeaning comments about her getting pregnant at sixteen.

According to police records not used at trial, Sharon had reported incidents of coercive control by David, including him locking her in the house to prevent her from attending medical appointments—specifically to stop her accessing contraception as he wanted to have a child with her. Other calls to police describe him verbally abusing and bullying her. He was jealous, possessive, sexually abusive and had a long history of alcoholism – all of which escalated during the months leading up to David’s death.

22nd August 2015

Just weeks after their wedding the fatal incident happened.  Sharon says they had argued the day before after telling him she would leave him.  The argument continued into the next day.

On day of the incident, Sharon she says, David went to the kitchen and took out a knife. He held it to his throat, taunting her with “Is this what [son’s name] did?” in reference to the violent assault by her eldest son.

Sharon does not recall doing so but accepts that she must have stabbed David. At trial Sharon’s legal team said the stabbing was an accident, as Sharon had no memory of inflicting the wound and believed at the time he must have walked into the knife.

Experts recognise that memory loss in moments of extreme trauma—known as dissociation—is common. But the court did not accept this. The jury was told instead that she was lying.

A number of David’s colleagues came forward to give evidence that they had seen him with cuts and bruises, some telling the court that David had told them Sharon was abusing him.

However, Sharon’s account is that these injuries were not caused by her at all and were in fact due to numerous alcohol related accidents and falls.

Sharon’s defence team at trial failed to explore the psychological impact of the years of abuse she had suffered, or the trauma triggered by her son’s violence. Partial defences, such as loss of control or diminished responsibility, were never left to the jury. So the court accepted the prosecution’s portrayal of David as a long-suffering victim and Sharon as the aggressor.

Sharon appealed her conviction and sentence but this was rejected.

A Renewed Fight for Justice

In 2018, Sharon applied to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), describing how she had been a victim of domestic abuse and coercive control. She referred to her declining mental health and a history of untreated trauma. A provisional decision not to refer her case back to the appeal court was issued in January 2020.

With support from campaign group Justice for Women, Sharon instructed a new legal team. Their review uncovered glaring oversights by her previous solicitors and counsel—including a failure to engage with Sharon’s extensive history of trauma, mental illness, and the violent assault by her eldest son.

Fresh psychiatric and psychological assessments were commissioned. These concluded that Sharon suffers from a borderline/emotionally unstable personality disorder, and complex post-traumatic stress disorder linked to her abusive and violent past. These conditions, combined with the coercive and controlling behaviour of her husband, now form the basis of new submissions to the CCRC this year. Had the Jury been aware of Sharon’s mental health and the abuse she had been subjected to, a verdict of manslaughter by loss of control and/or diminished responsibility may have been available to her.

Sharon Edwards’ case is not just a personal tragedy—it’s a test of how far the justice system has come in recognising the effects of coercive control, trauma, and the complexities of domestic abuse. As legal and public understanding evolves, so too must our commitment to ensuring that women like Sharon are not punished for surviving.

Sharon is represented by Madeleine Corr, Shaw Graham Kersh and Clare Wade KC, 25 Bedford Row.

Some names have been changed at Sharon’s request.