Man who murdered ex and killed and mutilated her new partner invited neighbour to see their bodies

Marcus Osborne killed the pair in a ‘ferocious and merciless’ attack while on bail after being arrested on suspicion of domestic violence

The police “failed” a young couple brutally murdered by a sadistic ex-partner who was released on bail before the attack.
Marcus Osborne was given a whole-life order on Friday for murdering his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend in a “ferocious and merciless” knife killing on May 15 last year.
After the double attack – which left Katie Higton, 27, with 99 injuries and Steven Harnett, 25, with 24 wounds including mutilated genitals – Osborne said: “Romeo and Juliet can die together now.”
Leeds Crown Court heard that on May 10 last year – five days before the murders – Ms Higton went to Huddersfield police station to make a complaint about Osborne, and spoke to a member of police staff over the phone later that day.
She was visited by an officer from West Yorkshire Police on May 11.
During phone calls to the police, Ms Higton said Osborne had told her that “if she ever got a boyfriend, he would kill them both”.
On May 12, Osborne was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence offences and bailed with conditions not to go back to their home, but he went to the street to spy on her over the following days.
Speaking outside court after the sentencing, Mr Harnett’s twin brother, Jordan, said: “The police have failed Steven and Katie – a young couple who had their whole lives ahead of them.”
He added: “The core duty of the police is to prevent crime, so how is a man with a history of domestic violence allowed to walk freely from a police station just a couple of days prior to him murdering my brother and his girlfriend.
“Katie went to the police originally with the intent of making domestic violence allegations against Marcus. She was told to come back tomorrow to give a statement.
“A woman plucking up the courage to speak out about her abuser should be heard there and then.”
A statement read on behalf of Mr Harnett’s mother, Janine Parkin, said: “This tragedy should never have happened. There were warning signs and the police were repeatedly told. Steven and Katie had asked for help on many occasions and they did nothing.
“While I hold one person accountable, I hold the police responsible. It’s not acceptable these days to ignore cries for help, especially when they are life-threatening.”
Osborne, 35, also has convictions for violent offences against two previous partners in 2011 and 2012
On the day of the killings, he forced his way into Ms Higton’s home, took a woman in the property hostage and told her to contact Ms Higton and get her to return to the property.
When she returned, he attacked her immediately before defiling her dead body and using her phone to text Mr Harnett and lure him to the house.
After murdering Mr Hartnett, he posed the bodies next to each other and invited a neighbour round to view the corpses.
He then raped the woman that he had held captive at knifepoint while threatening to cut her throat if she resisted.
Det Supt Alan Weekes, of West Yorkshire Police, said Osborne’s release was to allow an investigation and a file of evidence to be built for consideration by the CPS.
He added: “Sadly, the measures that were put in place, including bail conditions, were not successful.”
The case is being reviewed by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
Pauline McCullagh, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said the harrowing case had culminated in “two uniquely savage murders”.
She added: “The sadistic way in which Katie and Steven Harnett were killed showed the depths of Osborne’s cruelty, and his subsequent boasts about the murders left no doubt that he felt any remorse.
“Osborne denied his victims the smallest mercies in their final moments.”
The judge, Mrs Justice Lambert, said Ms Higton’s murder was a “merciless and sustained attack on a woman who was completely defenceless”.
Sentencing him to a whole-life order, she said: “This is a case of such exceptional seriousness that even a very long minimum term would not be a just punishment. What you did that night was horrific.”
Whole-life orders are the most severe form of punishment available in the UK criminal justice system. Anyone given such a sentence will never be released from prison.
A family member shouted “I hope you rot in hell” from the public gallery as Osborne was taken away.