Justice is done say children of victim Richard Sherratt

The children of murdered businessman Richard Sherratt say 'justice has been served' after conviction of a killer, who showed the family no remorse as she was led away from the court room.

Joseph and Jennie Sherratt sat in Stafford Crown Court with hands clasped together as the jury returned to find Emma Bate guilty of murdering their father.

Bate, a 26-year-old prostitute, of Gladstone Street, Birmingham, killed the former Stourbridge man, 57, with her partner Paramjit Singh, 33, at his new home in Bridgnorth on June 14 last year.

Bate and Singh tortured him and caused 38 injuries before fleeing with his wallet, watch and jeans. A jury saw CCTV footage of Bate less than an hour later waving her hands in the air in a macabre victory salute after using one of his bank cards at a cash point in Handsworth.

As the verdict was read out yesterday, Bate held her head in her hands before smirking at Jennie, a witness in the trial, while being led back to her cell.

After the hearing, Joseph, 28, said: "We feel justice has been served. However, no sentence will bring our dad back, and take away the loss we feel.

"Our dad was a kind, generous and loving man, who has cruelly been taken from us. He is greatly missed by family and friends."

Jennie, 26, said: "She showed no remorse.

"She doesn't feel remorseful for anything she has done."

Judge Simon Tonking told Bate he was "bound" to sentence her and Singh, of Willmore Road, Birmingham to life imprisonment. Bate denied murder but admitted robbing and defrauding property developer Mr Sherratt. Singh admitted murder, robbery and fraud.

Michael Smith, aged 51, of Horton Street, Tipton, who drove them to Mr Sherratt's flat in Old School Mews, Bridgnorth, was cleared of robbery, which he denied.

He told Stafford Crown Court he knew nothing of the plan to rob the businessman.

After the case, Det Insp Steve Tonks, of West Mercia Police, said: "The court heard distressing details about the degree of violence used while Mr Sherratt was held captive and tortured in his own home last June.

"He was subjected to a callous and brutal ordeal."

Wealthy, charming, outgoing and generous, Mr Sherratt was brought up in Kinver and attended King Edward VI Grammar School, Stourbridge.

He went on to set up a gold jewellery business in Stourport and later moved into property development.

He was about to start work on a development of two three-bedroom homes in Bridgnorth. Mr Sherratt's first marriage, to Denise, produced three children – Tom, now 30, Joseph and Jennie. After divorcing he married his second wife, Tracey.

But, after two divorces and several relationships failing, as well as battling the cancer non-Hodgkin lymphoma, he felt lonely.

Craving company, he called an escort agency. Fate dealt him the cruellest blow as the young brunette they sent to meet him turned out to be Bate, whose life was ruled by her addiction to drugs.

Infatuated, Mr Sherratt, then of Brook Street, Stourbridge, lavished attention on her, taking her to fancy restaurants, showering her with gifts, paying her cash and transferring a total of £7,740 to Singh's bank account for her.

On their first meeting in March 2012, according to Bate, they shared a glass of wine and he showed her his holiday photographs before paying £180 for an hour of her time.

Eventually, they saw each other nearly every day, and friends say he enjoyed being seen out with a much younger woman.

Daughter Jennie was not so impressed by the woman with "scruffy hair" and a broad accent, although she did not say anything at the time because they "seemed loved up".

Bate could hardly believe her luck at having found a "sugar daddy" who gave her everything she asked for, treating her "like a princess" and buying her a wardrobe full of Armani clothes.

Driven by her hunger for crack cocaine she began stealing from him and even tried to blackmail him for £2,000 by turning up with a black eye and threatening to say he had caused it.

On May 14, he changed his PIN number and, after returning from a trip to Dubai, he did not get in touch with her – so she hatched the robbery scheme.

Peter Davenport, senior partner at the Lee Shaw Partnership estate agents, who knew Mr Sherratt for around 20 years, said: "He was a very honourable businessman – very trustworthy and a pleasure to deal with."

A former girlfriend of Mr Sherratt, Karen Brice, formerly of Millfields, Kinver, said: "He was a bright, thoughtful and funny man, who used to have me in stitches with some of the stories he told. He was also very caring, particularly of his family, and we remained good friends even after we stopped going out as a couple."