Mother of James murdered by girlfriend in London hotel expresses anguish

The mother of a 47-year-old man, James Self, who was violently attacked by his abusive partner, Polly Murphy, in a Clacton hotel room on November 8, 2023, has again expressed the anguish that has refused to go away.

According to the distraught mother, Ashe, his son thought love was enough.

“Like so many men James was embarrassed by the control and violence being inflicted on him. Sadly, he would never come forward to seek help,” MyLondon Magazine quoted her as saying.

James died in the hospital six weeks after Polly attacked him.

He sustained several injuries at her hands, with medical experts later discovering a number of old wounds.

Text messages exchanged in the days and weeks leading up to fatal assault exposed Murphy’s increasingly volatile treatment of the gentle James.

Murphy, 42, of Hornsey Lane Gardens, in Highgate, was initially charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent, but this changed to murder following James’ death, according to the magazine.

She was found guilty at Chelmsford Crown Court in December.

Ashe said her child’s kindness “may have cost him his life”.

In a statement shared by Essex Police, she wrote: “On 21 December 2023 my beloved gentle son was in my arms when the dreaded heart monitor signalled the end of his six-week struggle for life.

“This was the beginning of what is now two years of living with the pain and grief of losing someone we shouldn’t be living without.

“All the dreadful weeks of James’s struggle with many difficult and painful procedures he endured without complaint.”