Writing on the wall: The murder of Lauren Griffiths

At 6PM on April 30th 2019, a man called 999 and told the operator that he had killed his fiancé by mistake....

They found the victim naked on the floor, the lower half of her body was wrapped in clear plastic and it was apparent she was beyond saving.

Next to her were rolls of clingfilm, and a suitcase.

There was writing all over the bedroom wall. It said;

“I know that I have killed her, this will be my plan, I will keep her away from the outside, keep her in plastic, in 14 hours I’ll be joining you, I loved you to the moon and back x 3.”

And

“It’s all my fault, this was wrong.”

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Episode Transcript

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(01:14):
Pardon struggling again. Welcome to crimemaps. I am Len and now I'm

(01:37):
Adam. This is the ridings onthe Wall. At six pm April thirty,
twenty nineteen, a man called ninenine nine and told the operator that
he had killed his fiancee by mistake. I'll say, you're a patient,
Yeah, all right, exactly what'shappened? Both killed ve by mistake?

(02:08):
Pardon? By you the patient?Sir? Yes, okay, So you
said you're the patient? Yes,right, okay, tell me exactly what's
happened to fiance? She's dead?By How is she dead? Because I've

(02:30):
killed him? Right? Well?How have you killed her? Sir?
I strangled to madag Rowlands went totell the dispatcher they he had taken LSD
and MDMA, and he had appearedto follow the operator's instructions on how to
perform CPR on his fiance. Whenparamedics Craig Dawn and Migel Teal arrived at

(02:58):
the address and then run the streetKatay's cardiff, there was no immediate answer,
so they tried to handle to gainentry and knocked again before Rowland's answered
the door and let them in.Rowland stood to the side, but didn't
say anything. The paramedics described himas having a blank look on his face.

(03:19):
He was on the phone and appearednervous, confused, and panicked.
The bedroom door was closed and theparamedics only managed to push it halfway open
as a piece of cardboard had beenwedged beneath the door. They found the
victim naked on the floor and itwas apparent she was beyond saving. She
was positioned on the floor near thewindow. She was lying on her back,

(03:44):
where her head leaning towards her leftshoulder and her arm was held outwards
towards her left side. Her legswere bent upwards. Next to her were
rolls of clingfilm and a suitcase.There was writing all over the bedroom wall.
It said I know that I havekilled her. This will be my
plan. I will keep her awayfrom the outside, keep her in plastic.

(04:06):
In fourteen hours, I'll be joiningyou. I loved you to the
moon and back. Kiss, kiss, kiss, and it's all my fault.
This was wrong. Mister t askedRawlands if he had killed the victim,
and Rawlins replied, yes, Idid. Mister Dunna asked when it

(04:26):
happened. Minutes are hours and Rawlandsgave a nervous laugh before saying last night.
Mister Dunn asked will happened, andRawlins said that his fiancee had disassociative
personality disorder and she had tried toattack him the night before. He had
said, she strangled me, soI strangled her back. I got high

(04:46):
on LSD, MDMA and a fewguns and tried to kill myself with a
rope, but it became loose.Paramedic asked him the patient's name. It
was Lauren Griffiths. Please arrive thatthe scene and afterwards Pc Michael Lord walked
into the bedroom and saw to makea body of a female. Half of

(05:06):
her body was wrapped in clingfilm andshe was lying on plastic bags and her
feet had been placed inside a bag. Defective Sergeant John Hunt not a blood
pooling and blood on her chest whichhad come from her mouth. She was
cold to touch and Ringamorris had setin. The police spoke to Rowlands in
another room. They noted that hewas sweating profusely and had read marks around

(05:30):
his neck. Bodycam footage captured hisarrest. Obviously, what's happened has happened.
The ambulance told us. What's happened? Okay. Everything I'm saying now
is being recorded. All right,But at the moment I am arresting you,
okay, on suspicion of murder.You do not have to say that.

(05:55):
It may harmy defense if you don'tmention one question something which you later
on in court. Anything you saymaybe given in evidence. Okay, all
right, So you're undercaution now.That means everything you say and do from
this point onwards, I will recordand I will write down. All right,
Okay, we're going to be takingdown to the police station now.

(06:18):
I advise you at the moment notto talk to me or anything unless it's
anything to do with your welfare atthe moment. Have you been arrested before
by the police you have? Okay? And what was that form for attack
Lauren? Right? And what happenedthat time? And I was struggling again.

(06:43):
After being placed under arrest on suspicionand order, Rowlands was taken to
the University Hospital of Wales to beassessed as he had told the police that
he had taken drugs and an attemptto kill himself. That's confirmed that he
had taken MDMA at level tired andtypically expected for recreational use. Doctor James
the untreated Relands at the University HospitalAccident and Emergency department. He asked Raylands

(07:06):
what had happened, and Raylands said, I had a fight with my girlfriend.
She tried to strangle me. Istrangled her and lost consciousness. When
I came back around, my girlfriendwas dead. At the flat, forensic
technicians recovered a mobile phone, cannabisplastics out the traces of MDMA on it,

(07:28):
and handwritten notes Reland had made.The note was found on the floor
and read, I wish I wasdead. Ambulance, I have killed my
fiance by accident. I tried tokill myself. I've taken too much LSD
and MDMA. My brain stopped working. Thirteen Glenronda Street, Catay's cardiff.

(07:54):
Another handwritten list was found. Itsaid, get PS three from other room,
smoke more weed, put music on, put on Netflix first, put
on music, rolla Dubie Go andsmoke it. Move PS three. Body
spray pathologist doctor Stephen Leadbeater attended thescene and noticed that Lauren's face, right

(08:18):
breast, and arm were displaying signsof congestion on the skin. This can
be explained in two ways. Thefirst is lividity or hypostasis. This is
the way the blood settles under theforce of gravity after death. The second
as if pressure had been applied withenough force to stop blood flow returning to
that part of the body from theareas above it. If it had been

(08:41):
caused by lividity, that meant thatLawrence's body had been moved after the blood
had settled on the front of herbody, meaning she would have been lying
face down for some time. Lauren'sbody was removed for a post mortem at
the University of Wales in Cardiff.A toxicology test confirmed that she had smoked
cannabis in the period before her death. It was estimated that her death occurred

(09:07):
within a ten hour window on Apriltwenty ninth, but it was difficult to
be more precise. An injury andpossible pressure marks were found on her neck,
as well as scuffing or roughening ofthe skin on her lower jaw,
but there was no damage to herinternal organs. Doctor lay Bitter ultimately concluded
that Lauren's death had most likely beencaused by an application of pressure between her

(09:30):
chest and neck. Lauren was lastseen alive at a round five ten p
m. On April twenty eighth.Her neighbor told the police that she believed
she could hear her speaking in thegarden later that night, but something seemed
off about her voice. The policeannounced that a twenty two year old man
had been arrested on suspicion of murderand asked to hear from anyone who had

(09:50):
been in the area between mid dayon Monday, April twenty ninth and six
ten p m. On Tuesday,April thirtieth who believed they had seen or
heard anything connection with their investigation.Lands was later taken to Clandow Hospital,
where assessments were carried out on Maysecond and May fifth. Doctor Paul Contrall

(10:11):
had spoken with Rowlands on May second. He said during the meeting, I
asked if he had been in troublebefore with the police. He told me
on one occasion in twenty eighteen,he said he had made a suicide pact
with his girlfriend, which resulted inthem having an argument. He said Lauren
had broken his laptop and his phrasekicked him in the balls, and he

(10:31):
retaliated by strangling her for a fewseconds. He said he was arrested but
not charged with an offense. Hesaid the suicide pact was not a clear
plan, but both decided they wantedto die. He told me he had
not yet been charged by the investigation, but I reminded him he should not
be talking about the investigation. WhenI asked about his future expectations, he

(10:52):
said he was really ready to standup and face what he had done.
Doctor Chloe Thomas examined Rowlands on Mayfifth. Doctor Thomas later said Maddock said
he was feeling better and didn't havethoughts of harming himself or people at all.
He said he had seen his motherand felt much better. She had
brought in clothes, He had ashower and fresh air, and he felt

(11:13):
like himself again. He said hewas starting to make sense of it all
and the reasons he did what hedid. He openly admits murdering his girlfriend
and shows no remorse over this.He said afterwards he smoked ten joints of
cannabis, drank a bottle of whiskeyas well as m DMA and four hundred
grams of LSD. He said hetried to kill himself but was too intoxicated.

(11:35):
He said he wanted to be bailedback to his mother's because he felt
safe and wanted to see his familybefore he goes to prison. Maddock said
he was looking forward to his future, even though he may be in prison
for some time. He was explainingthings in a matter of fact way.
He was smiling and seemed quite happy. He wasn't upset by the things he
was describing the things he had done. He didn't seem distressed, and he

(11:56):
was quite cheerful. Doctor Thomas saidRelins showed no physical signs of being upset
and was not tearful. At onepoint, he even said he was pleased
Lauren was gone. Lauren Griffith wasbrought up alongside her nine siblings in Owestryan,

(12:18):
Shropshire, by her parents, Jasonand Allison. In twenty fifteen,
she was attending College Cambria and Wrexhamto study psychology and sociology when she met
Madoc Rowlands. Relins was from Wrexhamand raised by a single mother. Lauren
had experienced mental health problems which culminatedin severe bouts of anxiety and depression before
she had taken an overdose. Intwenty sixteen, she began to see a

(12:41):
psychiatrist, to whom she confessed thatshe had been an abusive relationship in the
past. Her ex boyfriend had beencontrolling and violent towards her, which led
the psychiatrist to diagnose her a complextrauma that led to dissociative episodes. Lauren
spoke about her reliance on Rowlands asnot only her partner, her support for
her mental illness. She said shedidn't feel as though she could go places

(13:03):
without him, and he handled thingsthat made her anxiety worse, like phone
calls and managing their finances. Relandswas offered a place on a computer animation
course at the University of South Walesand the couple moved to Cardiff together in
twenty seventeen, and in March ofthat year they put a deposit down on
a flat in Glen Runda Street.But Lauren and Rowlins had worked for McDonald's

(13:26):
in Cardiff before Lauren began working ina British gas call center at around Christmas
time twenty seventeen. Friends described thecouple as inseparable. They had a mutual
love for the same things. Theyhad matching snake tattoos and had been on
a taxidermy course together where they hadmade bottles containing a pig and an octopus
heart as a symbol of their love. In twenty eighteen, the couple got

(13:48):
engaged. Relands had been raised asa pay again by his mother, and
Lauren accepted and embraced this. Relandssaid that he believed in a connection with
humanity and the earth, and Laurenbegan to to Wiccan and pagan belief and
the couple planned to get married ina civil ceremony in Cardiff City Hall in
the summer of twenty nineteen, beforehaving a ceremony at Stonehenge as part of

(14:09):
their faith. But problems within theirrelationship were made apparent to many of their
friends, especially after an incident inMarch twenty eighteen, when Rawlins was arrested
for common assault. A few monthsprior, Lauren had confided in a friend
that Rawlins was behaving in a mannerthat married her. It was New Year's

(14:30):
Eve and she said to her friend, I don't know if you should leave
me alone with maddug Ralins was saidto be passive, aggressive and he would
kick off if Lauren spent time withher friends, as he preferred to stay
in their flat. One friend saidhe was fine with things on the surface,
but would be funny in private.They were always together. You couldn't

(14:52):
talk to Lauren without him being there. He was always watching. Lauren had
expressed to her friends that when shecontemplated leaving Rowland, she couldn't bring herself
to do it because she didn't knowhow he would react. After it was
publicized that Lauren had been found deadin her flat, her family released a
statement that said Lauren was a beautiful, bubbly girl. She loved being part

(15:13):
of a large family and was areal people person. Lauren's fun and unique
dress sense always made her stand outin the crowd, and she was comfortable
and confident in her own skin.Lauren was taken from us too soon and
leaves a massive hole in all herhearts. Raylands was released on conditional bail
to live with his mother and Ricksham. While the inquiries continued between May and

(15:37):
Joan, he spent his time researchingarticles about himself, his fiance, their
friends, and the criminal justice process. On May thirteenth, he logged into
his and Lauren's Facebook accounts and begansearching the Internet for their names. A
month later, he used the mobilephone to search terms like credit for a
guilty plea mitigation overview, mitigation checklist, mitigation factor, how to show remorse

(16:03):
living a life sentence parole. InJuly twenty nineteen, he was re arrested
as his mother's home and brought toLay police station for an interview. Detective
Inspector Stuart Wales from the Forces MajorCrime Investigation Team spoke to the media following
the arrest and said it is threemonths to day since Lawrence's body was sadly

(16:25):
founder a flat in Ktays and sincethat time we have been conducting an extensive
and thorough investigation into her debt.As a result of these and quarries,
we have re arrested a subject andhe is being questioned by South Wales Police
detectives at a police station in NorthWales. We continue to receive information from
the public, for which we areextremely grateful and we are keen to hear

(16:48):
from anyone who can offer information.Lawrence family also released a statement which read
the past three months have been unbearable. We missed Lauren so much. She
was truly a ray of sunshine.Our lives have been torn apart. Lauren
was due to go on a familyholiday in August, which inevitably had to

(17:11):
be canceled, leaving her younger siblingsconfused and upset. This holiday was an
annual tradition. This is how weare feeling broken. We are crying out.
If anyone does have information, pleasecontacts out Wales' please. When Rawlins
was forced interviewed and made a secondtwo thousand and nineteen, his solicitor had

(17:33):
prepared a statement in which he saidthat after he realized Lauren had died,
he was not thinking coherently and wantedto kill himself. The statement read,
on the morning of April twenty nine, two thousand and nineteen, we woke
up in bed together as usual.We were naked and snuggling. Lauren had
dissociative personality disorder and was having anepisode. Her mood had changed and was

(17:57):
convulsively hit in her head with herpalms. I tried to stop her from
doing her and grabbed her hands awayfrom her face. In response, she
strangled me. I couldn't breathe.I panicked and put my hands around her
troupe and lost consciousness. I wasunaware of my actions. I had ingested
cannabis, lsd MDMA and whiskey.I had no intention to kill her heart

(18:21):
Lauren. We were deeply in love. I was trying to defend her from
herself and had to defend myself.It was not part of a suicide pact.
In six subsequent interviews, he hadanswered no comment to each question posed
him, and gave the police anotherprepared statement in which he explained that he

(18:42):
was anxious about his future and wantedto make sure that he understood the legal
process. He had also been askedabout letters that were found where he admitted
strangling Lauren and cheating on her.He said that he had only looked up
Lauren's name see photographs of her becausehe missed her. The statement read,
I accept my fingerprints were found onthe rappins on Lauren's body. At the

(19:06):
time, I felt overwhelmed by thoughts. I was not thinking coherently. I
know I wanted to die, butI would not be able to do so
sober or without drugs. I don'tknow why I had to wrap Lauren up,
but I felt it was something Ineeded to do. I can't explain
why I didn't finish. I acceptbuying drugs off two people. I hoped

(19:26):
I would have the courage to killmyself, but I was too debilitated because
of what I had consumed. Iwas not violent in my relationship with Lauren.
She was violent to me and blamedthis on our health problems. If
we argued and disagreed, she wouldinsist on me write in apology letters and
would say that's what she would expectto see the reference to me cheating as

(19:51):
a reference to masturbation. I didnot cheat on her. He was again
released on bail a day later,and the police had appealed for anyone who
had spoken to Lauren between March twoand eighteen and Able two and nineteen to
assist them in their investigation. MadagRowlands was arrested for a third time,

(20:14):
charged with Lauren Griffith's murder on Octoberthirtieth. He was romanded in custody before
being brought to Cardiff mada Strate's courtthe next day. Tectively Inspector Stuart Wales
from the South Wales Police Major CrimeInvestigation Team said, today is a significant
development in our six month investigation intoLauren's death. Although a person has been

(20:34):
charged, the investigation continues and weare keen to hear from anyone else who
can offer information. Rowlands appeared atthe court the next morning and spoke only
to confirm his name, age,address and nationality. Mike Powell with the
Crown Prosecution said, the defendant appearingbefore you is charged with murder. This

(20:56):
court does not have the power toconsider the bail application circumstances, so the
defendant will be remanded in custody untilappearing tomorrow a Cardiff Crown Court. He
was remanded into custody, scheduled toreturn for a plea hearing In late November.
Rowlands appeared at a hearing via videolink from Cardiff prison and he pleaded
not guilty to the murder of LaurenGriffiths. His trial was scheduled for April

(21:19):
twenty twenty, but it was postponedon the day it was due to begin.
Crown Prosecutor Michael Johns said this wasto be the first day of the
trial for mister Rowlands, but becauseof the COVID nineteen pandemic, the trial
has been vacated. Judge Paul Thomassaid that the trial could not start because
the jury trials were not taken placeduring the pandemic. His custody time LEMMA

(21:42):
was due to expire on April towardit, but this was extended to June
twelfth, meaning that he was forthe romanded in prison. His next hearing
was due to be held remotely inearly June, when Jorge Thomas hoped there
would be more clarity about what hearingswere permitted to proceed. The pandemic had
caused delays throughout the justice system andimpacted almost every jury trial in Wales.

(22:07):
When the hearing was held on Junefourth, a provisional date of November the
second was given for the trial,but Raylands barrister Caroline Reese would not be
available because she had to attend atrial of seven people accused of killing a
teenager, Harry Baker. In relationto the pressure the system was under,
Judge Thomas said, we're trying toput not just a core in a point

(22:30):
pot, with several gallons in apoint pot. At the moment, the
trial was set for January two twentyone, and Judge Thomas added that comes
with a huge caveat firstly that ajudge can be found for that day.
I'm afraid that we need to grabthis date. Mister Raylands has been awaiting
trial for a particularly long time.This needs to have a degree of priority.

(22:56):
The trial eventually began on December first, twenty twenty. Prosecutor Michael Jones
outlined the prosecution's case for the jury. He said, on April twenty ninth
last year, this defendant Maddock Rowland's, murdered his girlfriend Lauren Griffiths by deliberately
strangling her at her home. Duringthe course of this trial, you will
hear the defendant told the police hehad strangled her with his bare hands.

(23:18):
In the course of the nine ninenine call he made. He informed the
operator Lauren was dead and he wasresponsible and had strangled her by mistake.
However, having killed Lauren, ashe says, by mistake, he didn't
make that nine nine nine call immediately. The evidence that you will hear during
this trial will show having killed her. At various times after her death,
he went to buy items from ashop, partially wrapped her body in clingfilham,

(23:42):
cell tape and bin liners, removedcash from his own account as well
as Laurens, ordered an arrange forthe delivery of drugs, ordered takeaway food
for himself, and tried to setup a Netflix's account. It wasn't until
twenty four hours after killing her thatthe defending contact of the emergency services to
report her death. Mister Jones saidthat the couple were recreational drug users and

(24:04):
took cannabis LSD in MDMA on occasion. He told the court they had a
core group of friends that they socializedwith. Some of those friends commented on
the defendant being funny with Lauren doingthings without him, and they were rarely
apart. Lauren was described as bubbilyand happy and was open about her life
in general with the defendant and describedsome of the financial problems she and the

(24:25):
defendant had. She confided in thenthat she had mental health issues from her
own past abuse of relationships. MisterJones ended his opening statement by saying the
Crown's case is that Lauren Griffiths wasmurdered by the defendant. He made various
admissions to paramedics, police and healthprofessionals he had killed her by strangling her.
There's no issue about the cause ofher death. The issue here is

(24:48):
about what his intention was when hekilled her. Although Lauren had her mental
health issues, she was variously describedas bubbily, sweet and a happy young
woman. The defendant said he hadno other option than to defend himself from
her violent attack by strangling her.The only person who has said Lauren was
violent to another is this defendant,the man in the dock who previously attacked

(25:08):
her by strangling her and is nowdenying her murder. Professor Jason Payne James
testified about Rowland's claim that he hadpassed out while strangling Lauren because she had
been strangling him. He said,if you're unconscious, you're unable to do
anything. You're not able to exertany force. So if you're falling unconscious
when you're applying forced to someone orsomething, the ability to create that force

(25:32):
stops. Unconsciousness comes about because thebrain stops working, and the inevitable consequence
of unconsciousness is not being able tocarry out any action. This means that
even if Rowlands had lost consciousness,Lauren would have had to have died before
he passed out. Police support officerAlan Jones took the jury through the CCTV
and phone evidence that built a timelineof the case. On the morning of

(25:56):
April twenty ninth, Rowlands left theflat at around eight forty am and walked
to T and A stores in SalisburyRoad, where he made a two hundred
and fifty pound cash withdrawal. Thenhe purchased bin liners and whiskey before walking
back to the flat. Here heexchanged messages with a drug dealer. In
the message, he wrote, Hey, I want to make a big order

(26:19):
and was wondering how much it wouldcost an ounce of weed and three bags
of MDMA. Thank you please getin touch soon as I would love to
pick this up today. After beingtold that it would be three hundred pound,
Raylands withdrew sixty pounds from Lauren's bankaccount and asked if he could get
two bags of MDMA and an ounceof weed for two hundred and sixty pound

(26:41):
because the bank wouldn't let him withdrawany more than that. The dealer agreed.
At around midday, Rawlands ordered asubway meal to be delivered. It
arrived at twelve thirty pm. Onthe subway box there was a message scrawled
in Rowland's handwriting. It read howhappy, How happy? Really good?
It's happy. An hour later,the drugs were delivered. That night,

(27:06):
Rewlands attempted to set up a Netflixaccount on his phone before ordering forty two
pounds worth of food from Domino's Pizzathat was delivered eleven thirty pm. It
wasn't until six pm the following daythat he phoned nine nine nine and told
the dispatcher that he had killed Lauren. Photographs of their flat were shown to
the jury, including pictures of theriding on the wall of the bedroom where
Lauren's body was found. Some ofthe ridings said all humanity has done is

(27:33):
rape kill After a few false alarms, I am a man, not in
a derogatory or sexist way. That'snot who I am. No one can
take me. Humankind has fucked up. Let's put a stop. Just stop,
kill yourself. There's no point toanything. This is all great,
very very good. Why did youattack me? She turned into the hypersexual

(27:56):
and strangled me. Why didn't Ilet her kill me? Now she's dead.
I should have made her go tothe doctors. The jury heard about
an incident in March twenty eighteen throughthe testimony of Lauren's friends. It began
when Lauren had sent a message toher friend Shawn of Curtis on March sixth,
saying I'm going through some pretty crazyshit in the next twenty four hours.

(28:19):
I need to stay away from maddog. My life depends on it.
Lauren's friend, Courtney Worthington, spokeabout an alleged suicide pack the Rowlands and
Lauren had entered before Lauren backed out. Courtney said that Lauren had told her
everything in their life had gotten sodown and Rowlands wasn't enjoying university. She
said that their money problems had leftthem feeling as though they had no way

(28:41):
out. When Lauren told Rowlands shedidn't want to go through with the plan,
Courtney testified, he got really angryand his face changed. She said
he threw jewelry at her and aglass bottle and said to her if she
didn't kill herself, he would killher first and kill himself so they could
still be together. Another friend,Jack Killa, testified about the same incident.

(29:02):
He said, Lauren was around ourhouse and she said she and Maddock
had made a suicide pact which sheno longer wanted to go through with it.
She told me the environment she wasin was making her unhappy and they
were in a bad situation with money. She said she had found happiness which
stopped her from wanting to take partin the pact. I was shocked by

(29:25):
what she said to me, Ididn't know this was going on. We
said we were all there for herand she could come to the house any
time. She said she didn't wantto go home. Later that night,
Lauren went to her friend Stella's house. Stella said in her witness statement,
Lauren said, We're going to endour lives tonight, but I don't really
want to, and that's why I'vecome over here. She told me I

(29:47):
needed to stop Maddock taking his ownlife. She said he wanted to die
in a sadistic way. He wasgoing to sell his PlayStation in games and
buy loads of drugs to die anyof her state. She said. He
told her they should died together andwould strangle her to death and stab her
so they'd die at the same time. Stella and another friend, Sam Williams,

(30:07):
went with Lauren to the flat onMarch seventh. Sam said in his
statement, Madog was upset. Hehad cut his hair and the flat was
a mess. He was just unhinged, sitting still and not speaking. We
were worried he would take his ownlife, so we took him out for
the day. They went to sellhis PlayStation at a trade in store for
one hundred and twenty pound, andon the way home, Sam and Rawlins

(30:30):
got into an argument. Sam saidI was frustrated and upset at him over
the suicide pact and told him Ithought he was being a cunt, and
he stormed off. Lauren followed himback to the flat, and not long
afterwards she called Stella and Sam,who came to the flat. When they
arrived, Lauren was crying and saidthat Rawlins had tried to kill her.
Stella called nine nine nine and reportedthat there had been an attempted murder and

(30:52):
Rawlins was trying to kill himself.The nine call and bodycamp footage from this
incident was played at the trial.Lauren told the operator that Rowland's had grabbed
her by the trunk and pushed herinto the bathroom, asking her if she
wanted to die. Lauren said inthe call, he screamed at me,
do you want to die? Hekept saying he wanted to kill himself.

(31:14):
He went back into the kitchen andthen I ran out of our back door.
I managed to get free by movingsideways so he couldn't strangle me,
and just ran. I heard himrattling through the cutlery drawer, but I
ran away because I thought he wasgoing to hurt me. In the body
camp footage, Ryland explains that hesnapped after Lauren had allegedly broken his laptop
and he had attempted to take hisown life and hers. He said,

(31:36):
she kicked me in the genitals andI snapped. She kicked me and I
tried to strangle her. I letgo before it happened. I didn't want
to kill her. I just wentmad. It's never happened before ever in
my life. Rawlands was arrested onsuspicion of common assault. A transcript of
his police interview was read to thecourt. He told the interviewing officer that
he and Lauren had a suicide packedand he was in a bad mood.

(31:57):
He said he wanted to be alone, but Lauren had insisted on coming back
to the flat with him, andafter she damaged his laptop and kicked him
in the genitals, he lunged hisarms around her throat and self defense,
and then she left through the backdoor. He denied intending to kill her,
and the officer told him that Laurenhad spoke to his mother and his
mother was going to help. Shewas a mental health nurse. Rowland said,

(32:20):
emotions were running high and I kindof put my hands out. But
it's not what I intended at all. If I wanted to kill her,
I would have. I had alot of emotions and took that out on
an object that meant a lot tome. Lauren told the officers that Rowland
had spent all of their money andhe was feeling suicidal. She said,
Mado wants to kill himself. We'rein a pretty bad situation in terms of

(32:40):
finance. He spent all of hismoney because he felt suicidal, so we
can't afford our rent anymore. Hewants to kill himself. We can't afford
rent, and he doesn't want tolive. We split up because he wasn't
the best of people. Bad stuffwent down. I went back with him
and said to him, if youwant to kill yourself, I want to
be with you for as long asI can. I said to him,

(33:01):
So you don't want me to behere. He did a lot of bad
stuff to do with his computer andI broke it, which was stupid,
and he grabbed me by the troughand pushed me into the bedroom and said,
do you want to die? Iheard him going through the cutlery drawer
and ran through the garden. Theofficer asked her about a suicide pact Sheild
reportedly entered with Rowland's. Lauren repliedit wasn't a suicide pact. He wanted

(33:23):
for him to die so desperately,and he's kind of a big deal to
me. He said he wanted tokill me before he died. He said
he wanted to physically choke me outuntil I died. He said he wanted
to choke me out and blow upthe flat. I didn't really want to
do it, but we're going througha tough time. The house is in
a state and we've got no money, and I said, yeah, I
would kill myself as well. Atthis point, I went to my friend's

(33:45):
house and they made me feel likeI didn't want to anymore. I got
mad ag out. We thought itmight help him, but he acted really
weird and didn't want to hang outwith us. He wanted to go home
and kill himself. He let mecome with him because he wanted me to
die with them. I don't wantto. Lauren's friend Jack said that after
they heard that Rowlands had threatened tokill her, they brought Lauren to their

(34:06):
house and she told them what hadhappened. Jack said. She told us
Madog get grabbed her by the throatand said something like I'm going to kill
you. She said she managed toget out of this and saw Madog walked
through the kitchen and went through thedrawers. She thought he was going to
get a knife. Lauren ran outof the house and Stella called the police.
She said Madog had told her ifI can't have you, no one

(34:29):
can. I don't want you tolive without me. I saw she had
bruises around her neck and collar bone. Relands was released on bail under the
condition that he did not contact Lauren. Lauren stayed with friends, and when
she went to the flat, shesaw that the jars containing the taxidermy's hearts
had been smashed on the floor.Rowlands and Lauren began speaking on the phone

(34:51):
and through social media. Rowlands andhis mother had arranged to meet Lauren at
the railway station to speak at onepoint too. Letters he had sent to
her at the time where found inthe flat after her death. They read,
in part to Lauren, last year, I did something terrible that day
when I choked you. I administeredserious pain to you with intent to cause
pain. I am just ashamed ofmyself the fact I intended to harm you.

(35:15):
My other burst of anger escalated tobreaking our hearts in a jar.
I was out of order. Theywere a symbol of our love and I
was the cause of that pain.I want to write to you in more
detail. The actions prior to myarrest were horrible, and I feel like
I deserved my night in the cell. The charges were ultimately dropped because Lauren
did not want Rowlands to be prosecuted. In a statement, she wrote,

(35:39):
I was in my home address withmy partner of two years, but I'm
concerned about Madog. He told meseveral times he wants to kill himself and
wants me to do it with him. It turned into a verbal argument and
I damaged his laptop. He grabbedme by the throat and pushed me on
the bed and said, do youwant to die? I left the room
and he went through the cutlery drawer. I called my friend, who call

(36:00):
the police. I'm not willing toattend court. I just want Maddock to
get help. Lauren and Rowlands latergot back together, much the dismay of
their friends. Sam Worthington said inhis statement. We told her she shouldn't
go back to Maddock, but shedidn't want people to blame him or hate
him. She said what happened wasnot his fault and was not him that
there were a lot of things goingon in his head. They were in

(36:21):
a dark place but had managed toget out of it. Laura would joke
about it and say, remember whenyou tried to kill me. A friend
of the couple, Josh Bailey,testified of it. The last time he
had seen Lauren. Josh had beenso close to Rowlands and Lauren that he
had a ladder tattoo to match theirsnake tattoos. On April twenty sixth,
three days before Lauren was killed,Josh had gone around to the flat.

(36:45):
Everything was as normal and they hada good time before he got the last
post home. A few days later, he heard that Lauren was dead.
One of their neighbors, Imogen,testified that she had heard Lauren speaking to
Rowlands in their back garden had aroundtwo am on April twenty ninth. She
could hear Lauren again about an hourand a half later, but said her
voice was out of character. Imogensaid at two a m. I was

(37:07):
watching game of Thrones in my flat, and I could hear the female in
the garden talking to someone whom Ipresumed to be the male. I believed
they were having a cigarette in waitingfor Game of Thrones to start. I
definitely heard the female's voice. Shewasn't upset, conversation was normal and happy.
At three thirty a m. Iwas still watching Game of Thrones.
I could hear the female back outin the garden talking again, but she

(37:30):
was very subdued and very quiet forher. She was whispering, which was
very out of character. I thoughtshe was talking to him for ten minutes
and then went back inside. Ididn't go to sleep until five thirty a
m. And I didn't hear anythingelse. I didn't hear anything from their
address or any disturbance. A statementfrom consultant psychiatrist doctor Philip A. Walker

(37:51):
was read to the court. Laurenhad a consultation with the doctor and reported
that she had a history of abusiverelationships with men. She reported suffering from
the insociative episodes. Doctor Walker said. Lauren described three distinct personalities she felt
during dessociative episodes, which she namedIris, misery, and Ruby. Doctor
Walker's statement reads Iris was happy andchild alike, Misery was depressed, angry

(38:16):
and didn't want to talk, andRuby who does whatever she wants and it's
very sexual. None of these stateswere seen by health professionals or described by
other people. She had complex traumaleading from childhood abuse. The only mention
of aggression towards herself was in selfharming or overdose. She did not report
aggression or violence towards others. Shecame across as a passive person, almost

(38:39):
excessively so. Doctor Walker said thatLauren had described her relationship with Rowland's supportive
on an application for universal credit suchas disability benefits. Lauren had said that
she could not go anywhere on herown without Rowlands because it caused her anxiety
otherwise. She also said that hemade the phone calls for her and managed

(39:00):
their finances. Doctor Walker diagnosed LauraI'm a complex trauma leading to dissociative episodes
and was only deemed a risk toherself who passed incidences of self harm and
overdose. Roland's testified in his owndefense. He was asked about the relationship
between himself and Lauren. He saidthat it was very good Roland's told the

(39:22):
court, we got to know eachother as friends. We had a lot
in common. We enjoyed the samemusic and video games. When we got
into the relationship, everything was reallygood. That was after one or two
months of meeting in November twenty fifteen. I loved her sense of humor,
without doubt, she was like noone else I ever met. She did
improvisational comedy with me, and Iwould enjoy that. She was very open

(39:45):
and very beautiful. Lauren's friends haddescribed her as bubbly and full of life.
Roland said he completely agreed with thatdescription and said that that was why
he fell in love with her.He said that he loved her more than
ever when she died, and whenasked if he still felt the same way,
he said. Roland spoke about Lauren'sapparent associative personality disorder, which she

(40:07):
had not officially been diagnosed with.He described witnessing her different personalities. He
said, I first became aware ofit in twenty fifteen. We were in
the gym in Wrexham and she sufferedan episode. In the gym. I
hung my luck to keys up onthe machine I was using, and she
started playing with the keys like achild. It seemed as if something happened.

(40:29):
I couldn't put my finger on it. It was apparent to me she
had changed in some way. Laurenwas very full of life, but she
was never that child out When Isaw her playing with the keys, it
was clear something had happened. Itwent on for less than an hour.
She was confused. She went intoan altered state which she couldn't explain.
He told the court that she hadnamed the personality Iris and said it was

(40:51):
childlike, almost as if Lauren's brainhad been switched with a toddler. Roland's
continued. She named her hypersexual personalityRuby, and her depressed personality as Misery.
I first witnessed Misery at her mother'shouse whilst we were living there and
raising money to move to Cardiff.Laura had changed whilst in conversation, and
she was completely non verbal. Shestarted to hurt herself. There were pushpins

(41:15):
on a window sill and she startedputting them into her own legs. She
was a completely different person when dissociated. Misery was self destructive, completely non
verbal. It's hard to imagine becausewhen she was well she was so alive,
bubbly and happy as misery. Itwas the exact opposite. She would
hit herself and if she was nearother people she thought was a threat,

(41:36):
she would hit them and sometimes woulddestroy objects. She was completely depressed.
There was no control and that wouldhappen at random times. Rolland said that
Laura was a little ashamed about thedissociative episodes and didn't want other people to
know about it. He said shewas a bright personality, but she put
on a brave face. When askedhow it effected the dynamic of their relationship,
Rollens began to speak about his supposedcareer role. He said, when

(42:00):
we moved to Cardiff, it becameclear I had a lot of responsibility to
look after Lauren. Initially I washappy to help. I love this woman
and wanted the best for her,but it was stressful at times. They
became more regular, once or twicea week when she was dealing with stress.
She had a tendency to laugh thingsoff with French. She was able
to turn that off to focus onwhat was happening at hand, which was

(42:21):
hard on her, but she managedit. She would do times tables in
her head which would help her stayin the moment, but it didn't always
work. I remember once we wereat a friend's house and it happens,
so I took her aside and wenthome because she didn't want people to know.
I was emotionally and physically supportive.I introduced her to other tasks we
could do together, and cooking becamesomething fun. Roland said that Lauren wouldn't

(42:43):
go out in her own in caseshe did something by accident, if she
dissociated and got into trouble. Heexplained that he only had control over their
finances because Lauren was concerned she wouldbuy things impulsibly without knowing or understanding.
Roland said that their relationship was asstrong as ever. He believed he was
painted as the fall guy because Laurenwould tell friends that he didn't want to
go out when she was too ashamedto admit that she didn't feel up to

(43:07):
going out. He denied being controllingor restrictive, and said that he went
places with her in her career room. Speaking about the supposed incident which led
to Lauren's death, Roland's mentioned thatLauren had entered a dissociative state she called
misery. That was the name givento the personality that caused her severe depressive
episodes and self harming behavior. Rolandsaid, we were snuggling, but Lauren

(43:30):
had a dissociative episode. It wasclear to me it was misery. She
was hitting herself. She was indistress, and she was making a low,
grunting noise. Initially I was shocked, but I experienced this before.
I did what I would normally do, which was to stop her from hurting
herself. I went to grab herforearms to stop her from hurting herself.

(43:50):
As soon as I put my handson her forearm, she turned on me.
She grabbed my throat. I wasup against the back wall and couldn't
breathe. He said that her undseven am on the morning of April twenty
ninth, Lauren associative episode and beganto hit herself in the head. He
told the court, I couldn't breathe. I put my hands forward to her
neck. We were both in thatsituation. The next thing I remember was
my vision blurring. I could feelthat I was passing out. Her hands

(44:13):
released and solid mine. We fellaway from each other. At that point,
my vision came back and I sawher there. His description of going
unconscious was almost verbatim of what themedical expert that testified happens when someone passes
out. He didn't know how longhe had strangled her for, He said
he couldn't think at the time.He then said, wi Lauren was dissociating.

(44:36):
She was very strong, which shockedme. You wouldn't think an altered
state of mind could change how strongyou are, but she was. He
said that when he regained his vision, he saw Lauren lying on the bed
and noticed she wasn't breathing. Immediatelyafter this, he felt compelled to take
his own life, but claimed hisattempt had failed because he was sober.
He said, it was a horribleemotion that came over me all of a

(44:57):
sudden. I began shaking and Ididn't know what to do. It was
an overwhelming feeling of I must commitsuicide now. Mister Jones from the prosecution
asked him if this was a terribleaccident where defending yourself, you put your
hands on her throat and she fellunconscious on the bed, why didn't you
attempt to resuscitate her. Why didn'tyou phone an ambulance straight away? Why

(45:19):
didn't you attempt to make chess compressions. Roland said that he was too distraught
at the time, it admitted heshould have, He said he thought it
was too late and felt like thetime for help had passed. He explained
that he had covered her body becausehe felt as though it had to be
done to protect her, to coverher in a respectful way. He said,
having been confronted with the first deadbody I'd ever seen, I felt

(45:42):
this feeling that she needed to becovered in some way. If I had
a glass coffin and flowers, thatis where I would have put her.
I felt like I needed to protecther, like I needed to cover her.
To protect her, I covered herin plastic, clingfilm and salitate.
It was almost as if it wasa sign of respect. She had to
be covered. I do not knowmore than that about what I wanted to
get out of that action. Hisbarrister asked him how he felt about killing

(46:06):
Lauren and if he was sorry forkilling her. He replied that he felt
horrible, saying I wish she couldbe here now. I love her so
much. I've been depressed and consumedby self hatred. I miss her.
I cannot put in clearer words.I'm devastated with the fact she's gone.
I don't want this to have happened, and I'm so sorry that she's gone.

(46:27):
During cross examination, prosecutor Jones askedthe defendant if he considered himself to
be a manipulative person or somebody whoknows they can manipulate others. When Roland's
replied that he didn't, mister Jonesasked him, so, when you say
you were trying to persuade doctors thatyou were under control enough to leave,
was that an example of being manipulative? Roland said no, and it's example
of me wanting to get home.I wanted to go back with my mother

(46:52):
in Wrexham on bail because I agreedto go to Glanda hospital and they assessed
me and said I had to bekept in against my will. I knew
in or for me to get backout and see my mum and go to
Wrexham, I had to get dischargedfrom Landau. Martin Short, an employee
at the psychiatric unit where Rowlands wasassessed, said in his witness statement,
Maddox said that he had not seenhis mother for two years without his partner

(47:14):
being there because Lauren was very controllingin the relationship. Rowlins claimed he didn't
remember saying that, but agreed hehadn't seen his mother in two years about
Lauren being present, but he didn'tresent that. He reiterated his version of
events surrounding Lauren's death and said thathe wanted to die when he realized Lauren
was dead. He claimed that hewanted to be off his face to commit

(47:36):
suicide. He explained why he hadn'tcalled for help, saying I thought the
only thing to do was to killmyself. That if I rang emergency services
straight away, maybe she'd still bealive, but I tried to kill myself
instead. Rawlins was asked why hedidn't tell the operator that Lauren had been
dead for over twenty four hours whenhe called nine nine, and he said
he wished he had. Rowlins admittedthat after telling the opera he was unable

(48:00):
to get to Lauren, he failedto tell them that it was because she
was wrapped in plastic while he hadpretended to carry out resuscitative efforts. He
said in court that he had rippedthe plastic from her chest and tried to
get her on her back, likethe operator was saying. He was asked
if he was trying to get theoperator the impression that he was doing his
best for Lauren by feigning to carryout cpor when he knew she had been

(48:22):
dead for so long. Roland saidhe was just trying to do what the
operator said. Mister Jones questioned thedefendant about his actions after Lauren's death,
buying bin bags, whiskey, drugs, and takeaways. A few hours after
he had strangled Lauren, he placedan order from Subway, which was delivered
to their flat. Roland said thathe was depressed and full of self hatred

(48:42):
before the prosecutor asked him, wereyou consumed by self hatred or were you
just hungry? You ate that sandwich? While sat on the mattress inches away
from Lauren's dead body, Roland saidthat he still hated himself and continued too.
He said that he still loved herand was talking to her about the
times they spent together as her bodylay in the flat. The prosecutor asked

(49:04):
him why he had written how happyReally good on the subway box, and
Rowlands applied, I don't know whyI wrote that. It's clearly me but
I was under the effect of alot of drugs. Roland said that he'd
got the drugs so that he wouldbe able to kill himself. Mister Jones
asked how the NDMA and cannabis wouldhelp him get into a position to do
that, as he hadn't ordered anydrugs that he could overdose on. Roland

(49:28):
said he didn't know how to.Speaking about the incident the year before Lauren's
death, in which he had attemptedto strangle her, he said that they
had spoken about killing themselves because theyhad financial trouble and they were taking drugs
often. He said that he hadn'tforced her threatened Lauren into agreeing, he
had just inquired about it. Whenhe was examined by his defense Barrister Rowland's

(49:50):
denied intending to cause any harm orinjury to Lauren. When also asked about
his Internet searches, he explained,I'd never been in a court situation before.
I had not heard of these legalterms. I started googling to do
my research. The Crown prosecutor said, you searched the term credit for guilty
play. Did you search that tosee what you would get if you had

(50:12):
admitted what you'd done? Roland saidhe didn't know what it meant. Mister
Jones asked, if you showed genuineremorse for the death of Lauren Griffiths.
Why did you type into a searchengine how to show remorse? He claimed
he was unaware of the definition ofremorse and when he googled it, he
realized that he already felt it.The prosecutor asked him, is it because
you have not shown a shrede ofremorse for the death of Lauren and wanted

(50:36):
to know how to Roland said no. As he finished cross examining the defendant,
mister Jones said to Roland's the truthis you're a self absorbed, manipulative
person and what you did that daywas to kill her and sought to blame
her own vulnerabilities for her death.That's the truth of this. She didn't
die because you had no option butto defend herself. You killed her and

(50:59):
thereafter rapped her, bought food andbought drugs and showed no remorse for what
you had done. By the ninthof December, the evidence had been presented
and both sides began their closing arguments. In the prosecution summary, Michael Jones
said, the case we submit isthat on April twenty ninth of last year,

(51:21):
this defendant murdered his girlfriend. Wesubmit. This was a vulnerable young
woman. She undoubtedly had issues,and this defendant has shamelessly played on this.
Having killed a woman he says heloved very much. What did he
do? He didn't call the emergencyservices immediately, He didn't rush to try
and resuscitate her, but a singleattempt to help her, he said.

(51:43):
The first thing he wanted to dowas try and kill himself. He went
to a local shop to buy whiskeyand bin bags. He withdrew cash.
It got to lunch time, nota single attempt to tell a soul or
help Lauren. But he arranged thepurchase and delivery of subway, then drugs.
Get to about eleven o'clock in theevening, he tried to set up
a Netflix account. When you lookat the things he did for himself and

(52:06):
not a single thing for Lauren,we submit this gives you a clue as
to his intent thereafter. His actionsspeak volumes. He ordered forty two pounds
worth of Domino's pizza after doing whathe had done to her. He spent
the next twenty four to thirty sixhours contemplating his future. After going back
over the four shadowing events of Marchtwenty eighteen, when Lauren managed to escape

(52:28):
with her life. Mister Jones saidin the early hours of April twenty nine,
twenty nineteen, she was not solucky. The idea that he was
having to defend himself against her attackis, we say nonsense. She was
a bubbly, happy young woman whowas exceptionally passive according to the doctor who
saw her and her friends. Theonly person who has said they witnessed her

(52:50):
being physically violent is this defendant.Reland's defense solicitor Caroline Rees told the jury
in her closing statement, Lauren wasnot always well. That had a dramatic
impact on the way she presented.That is no criticism of Lauren. She
didn't choose to dissociate when dissociating,the lovely, kind personality Lauren displayed in
day to day life was displaced byone of the three personalities. Regarding what

(53:15):
happened in the flat on April twentyninth, the case for Madoc Roland's is
that he killed her accidentally while shewas trying to attack him. She had
dissociated into misery, the destructive personality. While under attack from misery, he
had to grab her throat and releaseher grip on his throat. His action
was instinctive, made very quickly toprotect himself. The only other person in

(53:37):
the room when Lauren died was thedefendant. No other witnesses in the case
is as well placed to say whathappened as he is. Speaking about Roland's
actions after Lauren's death, the defensesaid what as clear as he spiraled into
a void of self destruction, hisfirst reaction was an overwhelming urge to end

(53:57):
his life, which he tried toact on. The Wrapping of the body
in clingfulham is a disturbing factor inthis case, and we don't intend to
shy away from that. He describedan overwhelming urge to cover her body in
plastic material. He couldn't explain why, if there's anything more sinister about the
wrappings and bindings, why didn't heget rid of the evidence before calling nine
nine nine. When the ambulance teamand police arrived, he was open with

(54:22):
them, disclosing to the officer thathe had strangled her before. Those we
say are hardly the words of amanipulative man. His evidence demonstrated without a
shadow of a doubt that he adoredLauren, and at the time of her
death they were planning a future together. We say the evidence falls far short
of proving murderous intent. He thoughtthe world of Lauren. Judge Daniel Williams,

(54:44):
who was presiding over the trial,delivered his summary before the jury were
sent out to deliberate. The jurywere given two choices of verdicts murder or
manslaughter. If they found that Relincehad intended to kill Lauren, then they
should convict him of murder. Ifthey believed he had not intended to take
her life, than their verdict shouldbe manslaughter. After just over two hours

(55:04):
of deliberations, the jury informed thejudge that they had reached a verdict.
The jury returned an unanimous verdict findingMadog Rowlands guilty of Lauren Griffith's murder.
Judge Williams said the sentence for thoseconvicted of murder as a sentence of life
imprisonment. I must impose the minimumterm you must serve before you were considered
four release from prison. In orderto assist me determining how long the tariff

(55:28):
will be. I am going toorder our presentence report and psychiatric report.
The sentencing hearing was scheduled for earlyJanuary, after the Christmas break after the
verdict was delivered, Detective Inspector StuartWales, who had been a part of
the investigating team, said Lauren wasa much loved daughter and sister who had
a bright and promising future. Herfamily have shown tremendous patience and dignity during

(55:51):
this long and heartbreaking ordeal. Wehope they can now begin to recover and
rebuild their lives. Having murdered Laurenduring the early hours of Monday, April
twenty ninth, Madag Rowlands then waitedtwenty four hours before calling nine nine nine.
In this time, Relans took moneyfrom Lauren's account, went shopping,
bought and consumed a large quantity ofdrugs, ordered pizza, and set up

(56:15):
a Netflix's account, before eventually,perhaps realizing the inevitability of the situation,
calling nine nine nine. At notime did he show any meaningful concern for
Lauren's welfare or dignity. We wouldlike to thank all the witnesses who assisted
the investigation, the community of Cathays, as well as the prosecution team.

(56:35):
Reland's sentencing hearing was held on Februarytwenty fifth, twenty twenty one. Victim
impact statements from Lauren's parents were readto the court. Her mother, Alison
Turner said, as a family,we have lost a precious daughter and sister.
Lauren was a quirky, fun lovingcharacter who loved to come home to
visit her family and friends. Shehas missed every day and our family will

(56:57):
never be able to understand why thishappened. Lauren had plans for the future
which have sadly been lost forever.What happened to Lauren has had a devastating
effect on all of us. Itis extremely difficult to put into words how
we feel. We will never cometo terms with her death and miss her
dreadfully every day. All we haveleft is our precious memories of someone we

(57:17):
loved dearly. Laurence father Jason said, on April thirtieth, my life changed
forever. No amount of counseling,comforting, or real life facts were going
to change that. On the daywe were informed that our daughter Lauren had
passed away and had probably died atthe hands of another Knowing your child has

(57:37):
died as horrific enough, but toknow someone else has taken their life take
things to another level. Right theway through this process, I have heard
things that no parents should ever haveto hear about their child and had to
meet people I should never have hadto meet police officers, victims, support
officers, counselors, and doctors.The list is endless. As time went

(57:59):
on and was given more information,I noticed a real change in myself.
I became distant and not bothered,irrational, short tempered. I like going
to work because I did not haveto think about anything, just the work.
Since Lauren died, I started tohave nightmares and trouble sleeping. The
nightmares have always ended the same way, with Lauren's passing and me being helpless

(58:20):
to savor. I've been diagnosed ashaving PTSD, which is due to the
trauma caused by discovering one of mychildren had been killed and then having to
identify her in the hospital. Fortunately, I was able to receive support from
my bereavement counselor, who was ableto put me in touch with other professionals
who were helping me. One ofthe things I missed so much about Lauren

(58:40):
is the way she greeted you withthis almost musical hya. I am extremely
lucky to have been helped through allof this by awesome people, and I
hope in the future, that Iwill be there to help anyone in the
same position. The prosecution asked fora minimum term of fifteen years, as
though was evidence of intent to killwhen he had told Lauren he would do
it before, and he showed acomplete lack of action to resuscitate her or

(59:04):
see kelp after strangling her. Thedefense began mitigation by saying that they did
not intend to detract from those whosuffered from Lauren's death or go beyond the
verdicts of the jury. Caroline Reesesaid that Lauren's body had not been destroyed,
dismembered or concealed, and that theprevious incident had been put aside in
the couple's relationship and they were happy. Summarizing the facts of the case,

(59:27):
Judge Daniel Williams told Rowlands you metwhen you were eighteen and Lauren was seventeen.
To escape memories of her traumatic childhood, Lauren developed a dissociative disorder which
made her terribly vulnerable. In twentyseventeen, you moved together from Wrexham to
Cardiff, where you went to university. You suggested to Lauren sometime poor Marte
twenty eighteen that the two of youshould make a suicide pact. I'm satisfied

(59:52):
you persuaded and pressurized her and madea pact which you told her would end
your financial worries and bring to anend her painful battle with mental illness.
But Lauren changed her mind. Shesaw a brighter future. This led to
an argument on March seven, twentyeighteen, and led to you assaulting her.
You grabbed her throat and threatened tokill her. She managed to get

(01:00:13):
away and find help. Lauren forgaveyou. You soon got back together,
and for a time your relationship rekindled. By April twenty nineteen, the two
of you were in debt. Laurenwas anxious, and you both fell into
a low mood when thoughts of killingLauren resurfaced. Laurence saw hope in her
life and did not want it toend. I am sure you had thought

(01:00:34):
of murdering Lauren for some time,well over a year before you did.
You continued to harbor those thoughts longafter she dismissed them. In March twenty
eighteen, when you strangled Lauren,she got away from you, but in
the following April you were to giveher no chance. The two of you
went to bed in the early hoursof April twenty ninth. I reject entirely

(01:00:57):
your account of how Lauren died.You strangled her death, intending to kill
her. You then put a legaturearound your throat, and, on your
account, tried to take your ownlife. Although you were found to have
legature marks around your neck, therewas nothing to indicate any attempt was determined,
and it was soon overwhelmed by thoughtsof consequences to you of Lauren's death.

(01:01:19):
What you did for the thirty fivehours after murdering Lauren defies belief.
Thirty five hours after murdering Lauren,you rang nine nine nine and claimed in
your chilling call your actions in killingLauren weren't defensive, a lie you persisted
in a trial. The jury sawthrough that claim and saw through you.
Following your arrest, you googled howto show remorse. Your attempts to show

(01:01:40):
remorse when you gave evidence were feebleand were quickly subsumed by your all consuming
interest yourself. This court will wasteno more words on you. Lauren had
a terribly tough start in life.She was kind natured, couldn't do enough
for others. She was described aslovely, friendly, sweet and a public
young woman, and she has missedevery day by those closest to her.

(01:02:04):
The only sentence is one of imprisonmentfor life. The minimum term you will
have to serve in custody before youcan apply to the pro board is eighteen
years. Rawlins had spent four hundredand eighty five days in prison undermanned,
and that time was deducted from hissentence. When he is eventually released,
he will remain unlicensed for the restof his life. Lauren Griffiths did not

(01:02:28):
want to die. She had explicitlysaid that to Roulins when he tried to
entice her into a suicide pact.He'd attempted to use her mental illness as
a defense, claiming that she hadbeen able to overpower him during a dissociative
episode and that he had killed herwhile losing consciousness. Rowlands had manipulated Lauren
repeatedly, using her need for supportas a means of control, and instead

(01:02:49):
of building her up, he toreher down for his own selfish reasons.
Lauren was a young, vulnerable woman, Rawlins was enabled repeatedly to get back
into her life despite the obvious science. The relationship was toxic. The writing
was on the wall. Madoc Rowlandwill be eligible for parole in twenty thirty
seven. At that time, hewill be just forty years old. Do

(01:03:32):
you wait patiently every week for Netflixto drop its latest true crime offering.
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