Almost 20 years ago, a woman was found dead in her own home in Brighouse.
Cherie Bendig was a 28-year-old mother-of-one, and was found dead in the bedroom of the home she shared with her partner, Paul Dewhirst on Smith House Avenue. This took place on January 6, 2006, at around 7.30pm, and no one has ever been convicted of her murder.
William Barrett, a neighbour, tried to save her after her body was found lifeless, but to no avail.
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He said at the time: “I was walking my dog when I was called into the house and told Cherie was upstairs. She was lying on the bed and her back was black and bruised.
“I tried to resuscitate her but she was cold. As soon as I touched her I knew she was gone.
“I kept on trying though and just hoping I would get something. Your instincts just take hold in a situation like that – you just stop thinking.
“Then when the paramedics arrived they tried too but they knew, like I did, that she had been dead for some time.
“I am absolutely shell-shocked. I cannot believe this has happened to her.
His partner, Tracey Jones, paid tribute at the time, saying she was a “young mum who had gone through so much”.
After her death, tributes immediately began to flood in, with her grandmother, Pauline Kenny, talking about the difficulties of Cherie’s life. She said: “I am heartbroken and it makes me feel sick to think of what has happened knowing she has gone.
“I just loved and adored her. She had a lot of friends, but life was cruel to her.
“Cherie was close to her brother and she had been through so much. Cherie knew heartbreak. Her father died first and her mother died young.”
Her nine-year-old daughter was then taken in by members of her family and looked after. Ms Kenny added: “She has lost her mother, but we love her and she is being well looked after.”
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An inquest, held at Bradford Coroner’s Court, later confirmed she had died from internal bleeding. This was caused by a blow to her chest, which caused her spleen to rupture.
A detective at the inquest said it was likely that her partner, Paul Dewhirst, 34, hit her, causing her death. During a trial at Bradford Crown Court in 2006, he was set to face eight allegations of violence.
However, he entered a guilty plea for one charge of unlawful wounding and three allegations of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The unlawful wounding offence and one of the assaults related to Cherie Bendig, and he admitted to wounding her on November 29, 2005 and assaulting her four months before this.
The other two assault charges related to other women.
At his sentencing on October 9, 2006, Paul Dewhirst was sentenced to five years in jail. Following his release he would also be on licence for five years.
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