Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Woman accused of murder made £50,000 in a year working for OnlyFans, court told

Abigail White admits manslaughter by diminished responsibility but denies murder.

Claire Hayhurst
Thursday 13 October 2022 13:24 EDT
Court artist sketch of Abigail White (Elizabeth Cook/PA)
Court artist sketch of Abigail White (Elizabeth Cook/PA) (PA Wire)

A woman on trial for murdering her partner accused him of being controlling including with money she made by working on OnlyFans, a court heard.

Abigail White, 24, has admitted the manslaughter of Bradley Lewis, 22, by inflicting a fatal stab wound to him on March 25 this year.

Mr Lewis was taken to hospital from the defendant’s home in Kingswood, South Gloucestershire, but died hours later from the single stab wound to his chest.

Bristol Crown Court heard White, who denies murder, was examined by Dr John Sandford, a consultant forensic psychiatrist, ahead of her trial.

Dr Sandford told the court he believed White has a personality disorder but said the facts of the case suggest she was “aware of what she was doing” around the time of the attack.

He described how White told him she was working on OnlyFans, the online streaming platform on which users can buy and sell content, making £50,000 per year when she started.

“It was linked to her Instagram account,” Dr Sandford told the jury.

“In the first year, she made quite a lot of money but then more people did it. She was then making, I think, about £1,000 per month.”

White told Dr Sandford that her relationship with Mr Lewis was “very controlling”, accusing him of being violent and manipulative.

The expert told the court that White alleged: “He would be quite controlling with the money she would earn on OnlyFans, he would decide how that money would be spent.”

Mr Lewis had admitted being unfaithful to White shortly before the killing, she told Dr Sandford.

“She said she was cross because he had always denied it. She always believed he was having affairs and cheating,” he told the court.

Dr Sandford confirmed White had posted videos on TikTok about Mr Lewis, describing their relationship and being violent towards him.

The fatal incident happened a few minutes after the defendant had returned home from a pub with Mr Lewis, where they had been socialising with friends.

White told Dr Sandford she had consumed a bottle of wine before arriving at the pub, where she had a Jagerbomb and two rum and cokes, as well as a small amount of cocaine.

The pair argued when they returned home, the court heard.

“She told me her plan was to scare Bradley so she went into the kitchen where she picked up the knife,” Dr Sandford said.

“She said she didn’t want to cause him any serious harm. She said she came towards him with the knife.”

Dr Sandford told the court White said to him “I’m not sure how it happened”, adding that it was “not a big stab” but Mr Lewis then looked at her and said her name before blood appeared.

He confirmed White did not exhibit signs of thought disorder, delusions or hallucinations, or evidence of psychosis, and had never been a mental health outpatient.

“What’s the root cause of this offence?” he told the jury. “In my opinion it is the dysfunctional relationship from which it is arose.”

Dr Sandford later added: “I think it is fair to say she had difficulty controlling her emotions and difficulty controlling anger.”

A post-mortem examination found Mr Lewis suffered a single stab wound, at least 7cm deep, to the chest, which had penetrated his heart.

White, of Chipperfield Drive, Kingswood, initially claimed he had stabbed himself but later admitted a charge of manslaughter by diminished responsibility.

The trial continues.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in