Teenage girlfriend who helped murderer gets locked up after death of grandad

Ross Connelly, 46, was beaten to death after he posted a social media comment which upset Lewis Armstrong and accomplice Harvey Hughes.

The pair forced their way into Mr Connelly's home in Wheatley Hill, County Durham, shortly after midnight on May 1 last year and repeatedly attacked him with a weapon.

Mr Connelly suffered multiple injuries and was declared dead the scene.

Armstrong, who was 17 at the time but has since turned 18, and Hughes, 20, were both found guilty of murder following a trial in October 2023.

Hughes, of Girton Close, Peterlee, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 26 years, while Armstrong, of Dixon Estate, Shotton Colliery, was also jailed for life but with a minimum term of 24 years.

Armstrong's then-partner Millie Bradley appeared at Newcastle Crown Court today after she admitted driving Armstrong to and from the scene in her Nissan Juke.

She also remained in contact with him via text in the aftermath. 

Nicholas Lumley KC, prosecuting, said Armstrong had become angry after Mr Connelly had posted an offensive comment about his mother online.

Mr Lumley said: "It was well known Mr Connelly was a heavy drinker and he was effectively house bound.

"He slept in a single bed on the ground floor of his home using mobility assistance to get about his home but to go no further, rarely if ever, to leave that home.

"Millie Bradley gathered with others at the bus station in Peterlee - all captured on CCTV and there she took Lewis Armstrong as a passenger.

"It was late at night on the 30th of April into the 1st of May where she drove in convoy to her boyfriend's father's yard. The only purpose of that was to collect weapons.

"From that yard they travelled in convoy to Mr Connelly's home in Wheatley Hill."

The court heard that Bradley, now 20 but who was 18 at the time, drove to Mr Connelly's street where she remained in close proximity while the attack was carried out.

Mr Connelly sustained 40 blows to his body which resulted in numerous fractures. He was found dead in his bed later that morning by his landlord.

A female voice believed to be Bradley's was caught on CCTV footage in the street and she later drove Armstrong away from the scene.

In the aftermath, the court heard Bradley messaged a friend to tell them she thought she would be in trouble and asked them not to tell anyone.

Mr Lumley added: "Police tracked Lewis Armstrong's father and managed to speak to him on the phone. He told them he would hand himself in when he was ready, he didn't.

"Ms Bradley was arrested the same day while Lewis Armstrong was not arrested until three weeks after the killing of Mr Connelly, saying he had done nothing wrong and if he had he would have handed himself in sooner.

"In interview she told the police she gave a person a lift to and from Mr Connelly's house but she knew nothing and did not want to name the person.

"'I don't really want to name them, I don't really know who they are', to use her words in interview."

However, she later admitted that the passenger was Armstrong and the pair had constant contact with each other after the attack.

Bradley, of Beech Grove, Trimdon Grange, Durham, pleaded guilty to assisting an offender.

Mr Lumley told the court: "She must have been aware of the forceful entry of that home."

Judge Robert Adams sentenced Bradley to two-years-and-three months in a Young Offender's Institute.

The judge told her: "I am sure you knew a serious assault at the very least had taken place.

"I accept that you didn't know that an attack was going to take place but as Mr Lumley says you must have been aware there was a simmering argument between Lewis Armstrong and the victim in this case.

"As people fled the scene, it must have been obvious something terrible had occurred."

Jane Foley, defending Bradley, who was of previous good character, said: "On the 30th April last year Millie Bradley was a typical 18-year-old.

"She was full of enthusiasm and hope for the future. She was at college, she had the support of a solid, loving, hard-working family.

"She went on to make a series of devastating decisions and because of that her life will change.

"The reality is her life changed the moment she made the decision to drive Lewis Armstrong away from the scene of the murder.

"She had been told Mr Connelly was a family member - a cousin of Mr Armstrong's mother.

"This was in short, a completely alien situation she found herself in."