In November 2015, a gruesome murder case made headlines around the world. The quiet town of Beddow in Wales was rocked when the skeletal remains of John Sabine were found wrapped in plastic in a garden. Police believe he was murdered by his wife, Leigh Ann Sabine, who died in October 2015. BBC According to the report, investigations revealed that Lee Ann, known locally as “Mad Lee,” killed her husband and hid his body in their home for 18 years, leaving behind their five children.
The woman’s story is as follows: ‘The Body Next Door’This is a three-part documentary series that explores some of the most bizarre and shocking true crime stories of the last decade.
Murder case
In 1997, 67-year-old accountant John Sabine disappeared from his home in Beddau. His wife cunningly concealed his disappearance, claiming he had left her of his own free will. However, in reality, she had brutally murdered John with a stone frog ornament, then wrapped his body in layers of plastic and shopping bags, effectively mummifying him, and hid him in several locations – under a bed, in a garden shed, and finally, in their attic.
For 18 years, Sabine collected John’s pension. Her dark secret remained hidden until her death from brain cancer on October 30, 2015. A few weeks later, when her friend was sorting through her belongings, she made a terrifying discovery in the attic. She found a large package containing the mummified corpse of John Sabine.
Soon, South Wales Police detectives arrived at her home and scoured her photographs for any traces of the murder weapon. A post-mortem conducted by forensic pathologist Dr Richard Jones found that the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head. Dr Jones said the way the body was wrapped suggested it had been well preserved through “chemical mummification”.
The autopsy also revealed that the unique pattern of wounds on the victim’s head matched the markings on a frog-shaped ornament. Investigators later found the frog figurine in a jewelry box she had gifted to her friend Michelle.
A few months before her death, Sabine told a hairdresser, “People will talk about me after I’m gone. I could be famous.” When the hairdresser asked why, she replied: “Because of the body in the bag.”
Photographer Juliet Eden, who met Sabine a year before her death, said Metro”Lee was very intelligent, very confident and quite crazy. She called everyone “darling” and hid her secrets behind a crazy, flamboyant demeanour. I always found this puzzling; if people have something they want to hide, usually they keep quiet and hide themselves in a corner. But Lee was the opposite, she hid in plain sight.”
Ms. Eden has also written a book, Frog killerwhich recaps his experience with Sabine.
