Man guilty of manslaughter of partner who was fatally scalded in bath avoids prison
A man convicted of the manslaughter of his partner who was badly scalded in a bath has avoided going to prison.
Mark Clowes was handed a two-year sentence, suspended for two years, for the gross negligence manslaughter of his 42-year-old partner, Clare Bell, in 2020.
Stafford Crown Court heard how on August 9 of that year, at 11am, Clowes gave Ms Bell a hot bath and then helped her out of it.
Jurors were told how she was incapable as she had been drinking and it would have been obvious to the 53-year-old that Ms Bell had suffered serious scald injuries. He later remarked to a paramedic that he saw that her skin had shed from her feet.
Clowes didn’t check on his partner for a number of hours or seek medical attention despite him being aware of the extent of her injuries and her being incapable of doing this for herself.
At 5.10pm, on August 9, Clowes called 999 and asked for an ambulance, but Ms Bell, who was found on their bed at their home on Church Street in Audley, Staffordshire, had already died.
She was found to have 30 per cent full thickness burns and extensive scalding, with the pathologist saying that the scalding contributed to her death.
Ms Bell's close family said: “As a family hearing the details of our beloved Clare’s death has been extremely upsetting.
"Clare was taken from us by the person she trusted and who should have taken care of her.
"We continue to remember Clare when she was happy and healthy and all of the good times we shared together.
"Nothing will make up for the pain, emptiness and sorrow of losing Clare so soon.
"We are glad that this is finally over and can start to grieve properly and privately as a family.
"We can’t thank the police and everyone involved in the investigation enough.”
Detective Chief Inspector Cheryl Hannan, of Staffordshire Police’s Major Investigations Department, said: “Clare could have been saved that day by the person she trusted, she wasn’t.
"Her family will never know how different things could have been.
"Mark told lies to avoid responsibility for his actions and decisions, thankfully those lies weren’t believed.
“Our thoughts are very much with Clare’s family.”
