'Brutal' killer jailed for life after beating woman to death in his Yorkshire flat

The investigation into the death of Louisa Hall also led to her killer, Steven Francis, being found guilty of rape relating to an attack he carried out almost 10 years ago.

Miss Hall was found naked and unconscious on the living room floor of Francis’ flat in Oatland Court, Little London, in Leeds in October 2023.

Ambulance staff alerted police after they were called to the scene by Francis himself.

The 43-year-old was found with more than 100 injuries and with around her nose and mouth and extensive bruising across her shoulders, chest and legs. She was formally pronounced dead a short time later.

Francis was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder and told officers he did not know Miss Hall, but that they had met earlier that day and she had followed him back to his home.

He claimed he had then gone out to see a friend by bus before returning to find her unconscious - but enquiries revealed the friend he had claimed to visit hadn’t seen him for 13 years.

A post-mortem found 117 fresh blunt-force trauma injuries to Miss Hall’s head, chest, abdomen, legs and arms – 45 of which were found to have come from an unknown weapon. An injury to her neck was compatible with forceful strangulation by hands or a ligature.

The pathologist who carried out the post-mortem said the head injuries she had sustained were alone enough to prove fatal.

West Yorkshire Police carried out extensive investigations into the movements of the pair and found CCTV which showed Francis with Miss Hall, who was a sex worker, and another woman in Top Moor Side, Holbeck, in the early hours of October 25, hours before he claimed to have bumped into her in the city centre.

Francis’s DNA was recovered from Miss Hall’s neck and his claims not to have used crack cocaine for ten years were shown to be false when tests on his blood and urine revealed high concentrations of the drug.

As part of the investigation, detectives revisited a rape allegation made against Francis by a sex worker in 2016 which was similar to his attack on Miss Hall.

At the time of the original investigation, police were unable to charge Francis due to evidential difficulties.

The victim, who was 22 at the time of the incident, had reported being taken back to Francis’s flat at Oatland Court in February that year and assaulted, robbed, rendered unconscious and repeatedly raped.

During the trial at Leeds Crown Court, the prosecution highlighted the similarities of both incidents.

Francis, aged 59, was convicted of Miss Hall’s murder and the 2016 offences by unanimous verdicts at Leeds Crown Court on Wednesday (Jan 22). He was jailed for life with a minimum of 28 years on Thursday (Jan 23) at Leeds Crown Court.

Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Inspector James Entwistle said: “Louisa Hall was subjected to an appalling level of violence at the hands of Steven Francis in what was a brutal and sustained attack that cruelly ended her life.

“He has also been convicted of attacking and raping another woman at his flat in 2016 in similar circumstances, and it is clear that he is a very dangerous individual who has deliberately preyed on vulnerable women.

“He denied any involvement in Louisa’s murder and in the earlier attack but, through a detailed and comprehensive investigation, we were able to completely disprove his fictitious accounts, which has resulted in him being convicted of these offences.

“We hope that Louisa’s family and friends can take at least some small measure of comfort from knowing that Francis has now been held criminally accountable and will have a long time in prison to reflect on the pain and anguish he has caused. We also hope the victim of the 2016 offences can find some reassurance in knowing he has been brought to justice for the terrifying ordeal he inflicted on her.

“West Yorkshire Police remains absolutely committed to doing everything we can to tackle violence against women and girls and we encourage victims of physical or sexual violence to report it either directly to ourselves or via our partner agencies so that we can take action to safeguard victims, bring offenders to justice and protect our communities.”

A statement Miss Hall’s family said: “Louisa Hall’s parents, Maureen and Sidney Hall, and Louisa’s children, Courtney and Lewis, would like to thank the jury for deliberating on their verdict, and we are pleased that they found Steven Francis guilty of Louisa’s murder.

“We thank West Yorkshire Police for their hard work in ensuring we have justice for our beloved Louisa. We thank the police family liaison officer for keeping us informed of all developments of the case in a timely manner and being very supportive throughout.

“We, Louisa’s parents and her children, thank the court staff for ensuring the smooth running of the court.

“Finally, we hope nobody has to go through the pain and heartache that Steven Francis has put us through.”

The victim of the rape, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said: “I would like to thank the jury for listening to what can only be described as my horrific ordeal. Your judgement allowed me to sleep for the first time last night without nightmares.

“Thank you for giving me peace and believing in me. I hope this judgement will allow other victims of these offences to come forward and get their justice.”