21 November 2003, the Hudsons forced Rachel to make a videotaped "confession", in which she claimed she tried to split up the family, wanted to kill her children, had stolen money from her husband, and had enjoyed working as a prostitute. This was her last recorded sighting alive, and her parents last heard from her five months before her death. From December 2003, the Hudsons denied any knowledge of where she was, and claimed she had abandoned her family to run off with another man. In January 2004, copies of a letter from Rachel were sent to her father, police and Nottingham City Council social services, saying Death Her battered body was found 18 March 2004, in a rolled-up carpet on the grounds of Newstead Abbey, Nottinghamshire. It weighed only , and was covered with burns and bruises. There were a total of 60 separate injuries. Her ear was scarred and swollen, had split in half, and become infected; her mouth was injured so much that her bottom lip had detached. She had eleven broken ribs. The ultimate cause of death had been thrombosis from a blood clot in her brain, brought on by septicaemia, dehydration and repeated assaults. The injuries were such that police at first thought they had found the body of a young boy. Police took weeks to identify her, launching an appeal on the BBC TV programme Crimewatch and consulting Interpol. She was 20 years old. Trial On 21 December 2005, Rachel's husband, Craig Hudson; Craig's parents, Ron and Trudi Hudson; his brother Ronald; and Elisabeth Hogg, who lived with the family as the girlfriend of another brother, Shane, were convicted of her murder. The Hudson parents were sentenced to a minimum of 20 years, Ronald Junior to a minimum of 17 years, and Craig and Hogg to a minimum of 14 years each. Shane, Charlene and Emile Hudson were convicted of conspiring to pervert the course of justice by covering up the repeated abuse, and later sentenced to 4 years' imprisonment, three-and-a-half years' imprisonment and 3 years' supervision, respectively. See also Rosemary West References External links "Cloaked in horror", Julie Bindel, 11 January 2006, The Guardian. 1983 births 2004 deaths 2004 in England English murder victims People murdered in England British hairdressers People from Leicester People educated at Lutterworth College People from Nottingham Violence against women in England