Man jailed for murder of Lisburn mother of four

A 36-year-old man has been sentenced to 19 years in prison for the murder of a mother of four in Lisburn in 2020.

Natasha Melendez, who was 32 and originally from Venezuela, was attacked by her partner on 22 March 2020 and died from her injuries on 1 April that year.

John David Scott, whose address was given as Maghaberry Prison, previously pleaded guilty to the murder and three assaults on Ms Melendez.

Ms Melendez’s mother and several other family members watched remotely via video-link from Florida.

The court heard that Scott was arrested for murder on 1 April 2020, but was not interviewed by police until January 2022 due to complications around Covid-19 restrictions within the prison.

Scott had initially pleaded not guilty to the charges but as a trial was due to begin he changed his plea.

For the first time, the court heard details of the relationship between Ms Melendez and Scott and the assault that led to her death.

Ms Melendez had moved to Northern Ireland in 2009.

She and Scott had been in a relationship for four years and had a child together.

They had recently moved in together at the time of the assault at her home in Finch Gardens in Lisburn.

The prosecution said there was a history of physical violence by Scott towards Ms Melendez.

One witness had described an episode in which Scott had beaten Natasha and thrown a vacuum cleaner at her before jumping on her.

In the early hours of the morning on the day of the assault, Ms Melendez was seen on CCTV with no sign of facial injuries.

That evening, a witness at the property recalled seeing her in bed, crying, with two black eyes and a swollen face.

At about 23:00 that night, she left her home, with a friend, and was driving.

There were reports that her car was being driven erratically and the vehicle was eventually stopped by police.

Police found Ms Melendez was now the passenger, and the prosecution told the court her condition had deteriorated and she could no longer drive.

An ambulance was called and she was brought to Craigavon Hospital before being transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.

She was bruised and bloodied and had fractured ribs.

A CT scan showed that there was compromised blood flow to her brain and she was critically ill and in an induced coma.

There were traces of a variety of drugs found in her system.

A doctor called her mother, who lives in America, and told her that Natasha had had a stroke.

Eventually her family were told that she could not survive and her mother travelled to Northern Ireland.

On the morning of 1 April, 2020 Ms Melendez died.

Scott told police during interviews that he had “lashed out at her” and that he had done so as he was “unhappy with her drug use”.

The prosecution said Scott “relied on the fear he had instilled within her in order to perpetuate violence against her”.

A prosecution barrister told the court Ms Melendez was “a particularly vulnerable woman, given her build, and that she used drugs and was carrying injuries from previous attacks by him”.

Scott’s defence barrister said he had shown remorse.

He said it was a volatile relationship in which both Scott and Ms Melendez were frequent drug users.

He added that there had been “violence both ways” in the relationship.

But the judge, Justice O’Hara, established to the court that at its height any violence by Ms Melendez was “scratching by her”.

The extent of the harm inflicted on Ms Melendez was detailed by the judge.

He said after she died there were found to be abrasions, punctures, fractures and bruises all over her body and many internal injuries.

A defence barrister argued that Scott had never intended to kill Ms Melendez, to which Justice O’Hara asked: “If he didn’t intend to kill her what did he think was going to happen if he kept assaulting her again and again and again?”

When discussing the mitigating factors in the case, the judge pointed to one episode of violence during which Ms Melendez fled to a shop.

Justice O’Hara asked the defence was it true that she “asked staff in the off licence not to call police because she was scared he was going to kill her?”

A barrister confirmed that was the correct account.

Justice O’Hara replied: “And guess what? She turned out to be right.”

Victim impact statements from family members were referenced by the judge.

Ms Melendez’s mother, aunts and her teenage son wrote of their “pain and anguish”.

Ms Melendez’s mother said it was “impossible to put into words the suffering this has caused”.

Her teenage son told the court his birthday and Mother’s Day are particularly difficult for him and he would now “never know if she could have gotten better”.