A convicted domestic abuser sentenced to four years and eight months’ imprisonment following the discovery of his deceased partner inside a churchyard tent in Lincolnshire has been released from custody.
Paul Neilson, who was sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court in January 2024, has been released on licence and is currently residing in Kilmarnock, Scotland, where he maintains an active social media presence under the alias Paul Moxley.
The case centred on the death of 26-year-old Colette Law, originally from Greenock, Scotland. Her body was discovered on 17 July 2023 by paramedics who were searching the grounds of St Mary and St Nicolas Church in Spalding for an unrelated individual. Inquiries established that Ms Law had lain dead inside the tent for approximately one week prior to being found. Due to post-mortem delays, an exact medical cause of death could not be ascertained, though medical examinations confirmed she had suffered two distinct bleeds on the brain, one more recent than the other.
During court proceedings, prosecutors presented CCTV evidence detailing violent assaults perpetrated by Neilson against Ms Law in the days leading up to her death. Footage from 8 July 2023 showed Neilson kicking Ms Law twice in Hall Place, Spalding. Two days later, on 10 July, Neilson assaulted her again in two separate incidents in Spalding, shoving her forcefully to the ground and inflicting actual bodily harm.
Following Ms Law’s death inside the tent, Neilson mounted a sustained campaign of deceit. He deliberately misled Lincolnshire Police investigators and repeatedly told members of the public and acquaintances that Ms Law had returned to Scotland. Neilson later confessed that he was fully aware she had died inside the tent and had deliberately failed to alert emergency services or notify authorities.
An initial charge of murder was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service prior to sentencing. Neilson was sentenced on an indictment comprising:
One count of assault by beating
Two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH)
One count of perverting the course of justice
In January 2024, the sentencing judge handed Neilson a custodial term of four years and eight months.
Having served the custodial portion of his fixed-term sentence, Neilson has now been released from prison under statutory supervision licence conditions and has relocated to the Kilmarnock area of Ayrshire.
Image – Offender Custody Photograph
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