A court has heard that a karaoke businessman who brutally killed his girlfriend applied for a victims of crime payout. Paul Ross Charlton was sentenced to up to 24 years in prison for the murder of Joanne Howell, with the judge telling him he would likely die behind bars. Charlton, now 69 years old, showed no remorse and had even applied for compensation for Ms Howell’s murder. The court learned that Ms Howell was found dead at the bottom of the stairs in her Hughesdale home in April 2007. She had been strangled and her skull was fractured. The couple had been dating for a year, but their relationship had soured, leading Ms Howell to ask Charlton to leave her house and her life. In response, Charlton performed a Nazi salute. He reported the body and tried to blame an unknown intruder, claiming he was on a walk with their dog at the time. Despite being the prime suspect, Charlton was not charged until 2021 when the cold case was reopened. In July of this year, a jury found him guilty after just one day of deliberations. The judge described the crime as an “extreme act” of domestic violence, stating that Charlton had taken away Ms Howell’s sense of safety in her own home. Due to his age, it is likely that Charlton will spend the rest of his life in prison. He will be eligible for parole after serving a minimum of 19 years behind bars.
