Haunting images show ordeal suffered by talented artist James Self, 47, before he di£d from domestic violence

Haunting images have shown the extent of suffering talented artist James Self, 47, endured at the hands of his crazed and abusive girlfriend Polly Murphy who has now been sentenced for his murdr. Polly subjected James to terrible emotional and physical abuse, including seizing his phone, and cutting him off from family and friends before finally attacking him to the point that he did weeks later from his injuries. On the day of the final attack, Polly subjected him to a frenzied two-hour assault, the culmination of months of domestic abuse that left James cut off from his family. James Self is pictured covered in bruises days after Polly inflicted horrifying injuries that would eventually lead to his de@th.  Polly Murphy subjected James to a two-hour long beating in a hotel room – punching, kicking and stomping on him after she flew into a rage when he gave her a birthday present during a weekend away. Afterwards, she casually walked away with her luggage, leaving him to di. Polly Murphy was captured on CCTV leaving the Smugglers Cove hotel in Clacton on November 8, 2023, after brutally attacking her partner James Self, also from London.  It was revealed in court told that Murphy didn’t call for help until 18 hours had passed, suggesting to ambulance operators that he might have simply broken a leg. When medics finally arrived, James was found to have been badly beaten over a two-hour period involving punches, kicks and stomps. He tragically succumbed to his injuries after six weeks in hospital and did on December 21, 2023. Polly was found guilty of James’ murdr on January 13, 2026, at Chelmsford Crown Court. On Wednesday, February 4, 2026, she was sentenced at the same court to life in prison with a minimum of 15 years.  Following Murphy’s sentencing, more details have now emerged, including messages James sent to his mum days before his de@th, begging to make things right with his abusive girlfriend. He wrote to his mother: I want to fix things and make sure shes OK. His heartbroken mother, Ashe Smith, 80, told Mirror UK: James bore the stigma of being a victim of domestic abuse. He was ashamed. He wouldnt ask for help and thats why he d!ed. I dont want anyone else to go through that.  AsheIve realised now that female on male domestic abuse is far more common than we think. James saying he felt embarrassed and humiliated is key to all this. Men find it so difficult to speak up. Men can come forward, and they should. Theres no shame in holding up your hand. Polly Murphy, who had a previous 2009 conviction for assault causing actual bodily harm to a former partner, launched her final fatal attack on James in November 2023 after he took her on a birthday trip to Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, and gave her a birthday present. In a horrifying two-hour assault in Smugglers Cove hotel, she battered him and stamped on his body leaving him with eight fractured ribs, serious internal injuries and bruising on every part of his body. Instead of calling for help, she fled the room in the de@d of night and spun a web of lies to hide what she had done. It took her 18 hours to call 999, before paramedics found James in the blood-splattered hotel room. When paramedics – who said there was blood everywhere – on the wall, floor ceilings and bedding – asked if there had been a fight, James replied: No, shes been hitting me it was one-sided and I didnt retaliate. Ashe said of Polly: Shes completely devoid of any empathy, any sympathy. She left him there, all beaten up in the hotel room. She walked away to buy booze, to send messages to her ex boyfriend and send him music on Spotify Its psychotic leaving someone with their head smashed in, with a brain bleed, bruises all over his body, and with broken ribs. The point is, you wouldnt leave a stranger like that. Not someone who loved you. Polly Murphy refused to answer questions when she was arrested or explain how James had been left with the injuries. But detectives recovered 20,000 text messages cataloguing psychological abuse Murphy meted out on her partner. They painted a picture of a doting boyfriend whose love was met with poisonous manipulation. In an exchange sent in October 2023 – just a month before the violent attack that led to James de@th – Murphy warned him: I will hunt you and k!ll you. If I ever see you again, I will k!ll you. Ashe said: They were venomous, thats the word. They were really venomous, and it was very hard to listen to. Theyre heartbreaking, the verbal abuse, I would think, wasnt obviously as damaging as the physical abuse, but it must have been very psychologically damaging. James ended up saying sorry about things, which it didnt warrant any apology. She somehow managed to make him feel that he was in the wrong all the time. Thats an old trick. Despite the abuse, James showed nothing but love right until his final breath. As he lay in hospital, the devastated copywriter begged police not to pursue Murphy for the attack, saying: I suppose shes my ex-girlfriend now.  James Self and Polly Murphy Six weeks after the attack James – whose work took him across the globe and were published in Time Out magazine – was discharged from hospital but instantly fell ill. He was rushed back to an emergency unit where he slipped into a coma and eventually did. Ashe sad: I was devastated. We did have a very loving relationship, as I do with all my sons, Im lucky to have them. Im lucky to have had James and Im privileged that I was his mother. We had 47 years of him and for that Im grateful, because he really did bring something good into our lives. James first met Polly when she was just 16 and he worked in high-end London stores Harrods and Liberty with her mum designing window displays. But they struck up a romance in April 2023 when they went to a friends memorial and began a relationship. Ashe said: I think he was very loved up to begin with which was lovely. I was very pleased for him. He said they had very similar interests. Shes an artist like he was, and theyre interested in literature and cultural things. So they had things in common, which was nice, and I was really pleased for him. But almost immediately Murphy began her manipulation. When James and Murphy spent the weekend with Ashe and her husband, electrical engineer Donald Smith, 82, she smothered his personality with her domineering personality. Ashe said: James was a reticent person, he always paused before he said anything. He thought about what he was going to say. But during the visit she never stopped talking from the minute she arrived here until they left. She was just absolutely manic. We thought she was a bit strange, but we wanted it to work. If your childs with someone and seems happy, you want to them to be happy, dont you? Ashe said: James brought his dog with him and it became clear during the visit that Polly really wanted him to get rid of it. I didnt see it then as a red flag but now I realise it was part of the process of separating him from people and things that he loved.  James, his mum Ashe, and his dogJames messaged his mum every day through the summer of 2023, but Ashe said friends noticed he was growing distant. He went from happy and easy going to sad and introverted, said Ashe. He confided in his mother that Murphy had a habit of flying into violent rages – but Ashe says James was blinded by love. She said: He said she was incredibly jealous and had a raging temper on her. He could never be sure what mood she was going to be in, and when she was on one she was terrible. I asked him if the relationship was really worth it if it was such hard work, but he told me he loved her and really cared about her. Weeks before the fatal attack, James emailed Ashe telling her that Murphy had confiscated his phone.  James and mum Ashe A week later she finally returned it to him – by throwing it in his face, minus the SIM card, leaving him with a nasty gash over his eye, says Ashe, who is also an artist and mural painter who lives in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. In private Murphy was manipulating James, forcing him to take on a vegan diet and using his problem with alcohol to control him. Part of her coercive control was to deny they were in a relationship. After their visit to James family home, she took offence to suggestion she was his girlfriend and became erratic, volatile and threatening. Ashe – who said James was deeply affected after the sudden dath of his father, Lawrence, 80, from a brain haemorrhage around 25 years ago – said that despite the abuse, James stayed with Polly and desperately wanted her love. Ashe said: James always wanted to see the good in people. And I think he did with Polly. Everyone knew there was something wrong by that stage with her. But I think he thought because of his upbringing and his general attitude towards life and people, that if he loved her enough, he would help her. That was his approach to life. Remarkably Ashe, who has two other sons, Duncan, 44, and Marcus, 54, and two grandchildren, says she feels no hate for Murphy. She even thought about taking art material to her in prison. But she wants the Government to educate boys and girls in school about the red flags of domestic abuse. Ashe said: She has ruined our life, but she has ruined her life too. There are no winners in this really, are there? Shes not a winner. Were not winners. James certainly wasnt a winner. And he was so lovely, he was such a really lovely, creative, kind, interesting person. I dont feel revengeful. How long she serves in prison is irrelevant really. All we wanted was the jury to recognise what James went through and they did. Were very grateful for that.The post Haunting images show ordeal suffered by talented artist James Self, 47, before he did from domestic violence appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.