Moment man admits strangling partner 'like in The Simpsons'

This is the moment a man who admitted strangling his girlfriend said it's 'like you see on The Simpsons' as he faces jail for murdering her 24 hours after she phoned the police.

When Tara Kershaw, 33, called the police on her boyfriend for hitting her on the lip, they filmed Adam Barnard as he said 'my idea of strangulation is like you see it on The Simpsons'.

He then made a strangling gesture to mimic how Homer strangles his son Bart in the show.

'Controlling and manipulating murderer' Barnard, 41, was arrested, questioned and later released. But 24 hours later, he turned up at the police station and told them: 'I think I've killed her.'

A Domestic Violence Adviser had called Tara's mobile three times to check on her welfare but their calls went unanswered.

The mother-of-two's body was found under a blanket on the floor of a room in a guest house where she was living in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

Barnard – who lived in the same house - claimed Tara had attacked him with a lamp while he was sleeping and he'd 'instinctively turned and pinned down Tara having pushed her away,' and was in pain, in shock and had held her down by the neck. 

Once he felt her body go limp, he 'immediately stopped.' The court heard he was sleeping off a drink and drugs binge and blacked out, finding his arm on her throat when he came to.

A Home Office postmortem examination later confirmed her cause of death was compression of the neck.

There was evidence of other neck injuries from up to seven weeks before.

Barnard claimed he didn't know how long he had pinned down Tara and had attempted to resuscitate her and when her breathing didn't change, had covered her with a blanket and passed out on the bed.

He told officers he woke up the next morning, panicked and left the property.

The jury delivered a unanimous guilty verdict, following a 17 day trial held over five weeks, at Norwich Crown Court today.

Barnard pleaded not guilty to her murder at an earlier hearing.

The court was told about previous police contact with Barnard and Tara, including an incident at around 6pm on January 18. 

Tara phoned officers in the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) and told them Barnard had hit her on the lip.

He said their engagement was called off that day and they rowed when he asked for the ring back. 

Police officers were deployed to the address and Barnard was arrested on suspicion of common assault and taken to Great Yarmouth Investigation Centre for questioning. 

He was released at 10.50pm with no further action being taken.

On January 20, Barnard approached an officer outside Yarmouth police station, shortly before 9am, and said: 'I think I've killed my partner.'

Following today's conviction, Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Inspector Alix Wright said: 'Our thoughts today, as they have been throughout our investigation, are with Tara, her family and friends and although I am pleased with this verdict, I also know nothing will ever bring her back and take away their pain.

'Barnard was a controlling and manipulating murderer who preyed on Tara, exploited her feelings and her vulnerabilities.

'I would like to thank the jury for paying close attention to evidence presented in court which at times has been complex. 

'They heard key evidence from medical experts that Tara had previous injuries to the bones in her neck caused four to seven weeks, five to ten days, and less than six hours before she died.

'Whenever she attempted to ask for help from authorities, she felt threatened by Barnard. He deserves to be behind bars.'

Adam Barnard will be sentenced on Monday 11 November 2024.

Norfolk Constabulary made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct in January 2024 in relation to previous police contact with the victim and Barnard. 

The IOPC subsequently confirmed it is conducting its independent investigation.