Doherty Pleads Guilty to Murder of Courtney Angus

Michael Doherty pleaded guilty on Monday to the murder of 21-year-old Courtney Angus, whose body was discovered in his home in Batley, West Yorkshire, last July, just hours before she was due to celebrate her birthday.

The guilty plea came at Leeds Crown Court on what was scheduled as the first day of Doherty's trial. The 37-year-old, of Norfolk Street in Batley and also known as Michael Moore, admitted to killing Ms. Angus, who had been staying at his address for several days. Prosecutors stated that Doherty had expressed a romantic interest in her, but when she did not reciprocate, he threatened to kill her and himself. The fatal attack occurred shortly before midnight on July 25, 2024. Cellphone records placed Doherty's phone near a local pub around that time, where a witness reported seeing an agitated man who said he had done something terrible.

The following evening, West Yorkshire Police responded to reports of an armed robbery at an Asda supermarket in nearby Dewsbury at 9:20 p.m. Officers arrested Doherty in Dewsbury town center after he shouted abuse, brandished a large knife, and threatened them. During the arrest, he confessed to officers that a woman he believed to...