Our daughter had her throat slit and body dumped in a country lane by porn-obsessed colleague - only for him to get off with a lighter sentence because he murdered her at home

The parents of an HR worker whose boyfriend slit her throat before dumping her body on a country lane have revealed their anger at his lower sentence because he murdered her at home.

Megan Newborough, 23, of Nuneaton, Warwickshire, was killed in August 2021 by her 30-year-old colleague Ross McCullam, a violent porn-obsessed lab technician.

McCullam throttled and cut the throat of Miss Newborough, whom he had been dating for less than a month, at his parents' home in Coalville, Leicestershire.

But his 23-year jail term in 2022 was below what her parents Anthony and Elaine Newborough had hoped for – and they have been campaigning about it ever since.

There are three starting points for a murder sentence – including 30 years when using a firearm; and 25 years when a weapon is taken to the scene with an intent to kill.

But in McCullam's case, the judge had to use a lower starting point of only 15 years because the murder took place in a home where the weapon was already present.

The victim's parents spoke about the toll of their campaign in the new Channel 4 documentary 999: What Happened Next, which is airing on Mondays at 9pm.

Mrs Newborough said: 'We were shocked by it [McCullam's sentence]. We were totally disgusted. How can a murder that takes place in the home be so different?

'How is that different from outside the home? How can you justify a ten-year deficit? We would have been looking at a higher starting point. That doesn't seem right.'

Megan Newborough, 23, of Nuneaton, Warwickshire, was murdered in August 2021

Megan Newborough's parents Anthony and Elaine speak about the campaign for a law change

Ross McCullam, 30, a violent porn-obsessed lab technician, killed Miss Newborough in 2021

She added: 'Just because of where a murder takes place and what the weapon of choice is shouldn't detract from the length of sentence that is handed out.'

After strangling Miss Newborough, McCullam used a carving knife to cut her throat 14 times in what prosecutors said was an attempt to decapitate her within the home.

The nature of the crime meant his sentence had a starting point of 15 years. But if he had used a knife outside the home, the starting sentence would have been 25 years.

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John Cammegh KC, who was the prosecutor in the case, told the documentary: 'Killing someone by strangulation would meet - this may shock people - but that is traditionally met with the baseline of 15 years.

'I wanted a sentence in excess of 25 years. Why? Because he used a knife, because I felt that the entirety of the circumstances demanded that this must be way above your baseline 15-year minimum term for murder.'

He added: 'What I felt was particularly artificial in this case was that because it happened within the property, does not under the guidelines equate to taking a knife to the scene because it's indoors. That is something that I struggle with.'

Police wanted the maximum sentence possible, but McCullam was eventually given 23 years by Judge Philip Head at Leicester Crown Court in December 2022.

Mr Cammegh said: 'He did receive a sentence that effectively was eight years above the 15-year starting point. Do I think it was enough? No, I think it should have been more, but that's just my opinion.'

Miss Newborough's parents finally had a breakthrough with their campaign in June, when official plans were announced to strengthen sentencing laws in an attempt to help tackle violence against women.

The Ministry of Justice said murderers who kill a partner or ex-partner at home with a knife or other weapon could face an extra ten years in jail – to end the sentencing disparity.

Officials accepted that the law change was subject to consultation with the Sentencing Council, but insisted it will be introduced 'as soon as possible'.

The moment Ross McCullam told police where he had dumped Miss Newborough's body

John Cammegh KC, who was the prosecutor in the case, wanted a sentence above 25 years

The Newboroughs had joined forces in their campaign with mothers Carole Gould and Julie Devey, whose daughters were both killed at home by their former partners.

Speaking about his daughter, Mr Newborough said: 'She saw the best in people really and she just wanted to help - obviously, her biggest downfall in the end.'

But he added: 'Mentally, it's draining, it takes its toll on you and it just eats at you. It slowly destroys you.'

Mrs Newborough also said: 'It's like she had all these colours. The world was so colourful with her in it. Now it's not.'

She recalled the moment they learned their daughter had died, saying: 'We got that knock on the door, 2 o'clock in the morning, with the police at the door asking to come in and speak to us.

'They gathered everybody together and basically sat us down and said that they had found a body, they believed it to be Megan's and they had arrested a person of interest.'

Mrs Newborough added: 'It just didn't feel like it was real, in any way, shape or form. Felt like you were in a movie set. It just wasn't real, it was like everything going on around you.'

At his sentencing four years ago, Miss Newborough's older sister Claire told McCullam he is 'the definition of a monster', adding: 'I hope she haunts you forever.'

Mr Cammegh called McCullam a 'sadistic killer' who acted with 'ruthless' intent, adding: 'When it comes to women – this is a very dangerous man.'

Jurors were also told Miss Newborough was in 'a relationship of sorts' with McCullam and they had exchanged thousands of WhatsApp messages.

She was said to have 'indulged the defendant with nothing but empathy, kindness and endless patience'.

McCullam's bedroom at his parents' home in Coalville, Leicestershire, with rubbish on the floor

Pictured left to right: Megan Newborough's sister Claire Newborough, brother John Newborough, Detective Inspector Jenni Heggs and her parents Elaine and Anthony Newborough, outside Leicester Crown Court after McCullam was jailed for at least 23 years in December 2022

Judge Head said McCullam had carried out a 'detailed, calculated and long-lasting series of deceits', including dumping her body, changing his blood-stained clothes and later texting her to say 'you were amazing' and asking if she had got home safe.

McCullam had started a fledgling relationship with the HR officer, a colleague at brickmaker Ibstock, only three weeks before he launched his unprovoked attack.

He later told police he had acted in a 'blind rage', triggered by undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder caused by unreported childhood sexual abuse.

He attempted to blame Miss Newborough suggesting she had inadvertently triggered his attack while starting to give McCullam – who had erectile dysfunction – oral sex.

McCullam lied repeatedly to police investigating Miss Newborough as a missing person, before eventually revealing where he had left her body after killing her.

Hours after abandoning her body in undergrowth using her own car, he masturbated to pornography for 17 minutes, and then recorded and sent a 30-second voice message to his victim's phone in which he said: 'I had a fun time earlier.'

McCullam, who was described as a 'sadistic killer', had conducted online searches linked to serial killer Levi Bellfield, Soham killer Ian Huntley and Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe.

In March 2023, the Court of Appeal rejected a bid to increase McCullam's sentence after it was challenged by the Attorney General's Office as being unduly lenient.

Senior judges concluded they were 'not persuaded that there is any basis in which it can be said that the judge fell into error'.