Overview
- On Thursday May 28, 2026, Leeds Crown Court sentenced Michael Doherty to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 33 years and a lifetime licence if he is released.
- Court evidence found Courtney Angus suffered 76 injuries and that Doherty sexually assaulted and mutilated her and took indecent images during or after the attack.
- Police discovered Angus’s body after an unrelated arrest in Dewsbury triggered a search, and officers arrested Doherty after he brandished a knife, threatened staff and confessed to having killed someone.
- Prosecutors and the judge relied on CCTV, phone location data, DNA and post-mortem findings to secure the case and noted Doherty’s prior convictions, including a 2013 rape, as part of a pattern of violence against women.
- Courtney’s family described lasting grief and relief at the sentence, and the case has renewed local concern about violence toward women while the Parole Board will review any future release after the minimum term.