However, a coroner heard today (Thursday, July 7) how Maddie Durdant-Hollamby’s short life was snuffed out by her older boyfriend after she did the right thing and broke up with him face-to-face rather than by text. Maddie told friends how she was nervous about ending the relationship and the court heard how within minutes of arriving at his smart new home in Slate Drive, Kettering, she was killed by Ben Green, who then stabbed himself and died on the kitchen floor. .
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Maddie Durdant-Hollamby was killed by Ben Green at this house in Slate Drive, Kettering Northamptonshire coroner Anne Pember broke down when today’s Guildhall inquest was told how the 22-year-old’s loss left her mum heartbroken. Rachel Durdant-Hollamby said her daughter had grown up loving dance and said the couple had many “cherished mother-daughter moments” before her son Fabian was born. The court was told how Maddie doted on her brother, even changing his nappy and looking after him while her mum carried on with the housework. “She was incredibly generous,” Rachel said in a statement read to the court. “There was nothing she loved more than seeing her family and friends. She was given leave for the first six weeks of the pandemic and spent baking and sunbathing.” Ben Green, who killed Maddie Durdant-Hollamby in Kettering before turning the knife on himself Maddie had progressed from school to a career in marketing, finding work at the company where her father, Steve Durdad-Hollaby – Alumasc worked at Burton Latimer. There she met her boss Ben Green, who was 21 years her senior. So talented was Maddie that she was quickly poached by another company, Keyline. But a relationship between Maddie and Ben had grown and the pair started seeing each other. Her dad had reservations because of Ben’s age. Maddie’s salary increased and she started saving for a down payment on her own home. When Ben asked her to buy a house with him, she turned him down. She also refused to meet his children, telling him that it wouldn’t be right as she had no intention of having a long-term relationship with him. While Ben waited for his house to be built, he even lived with Maddie’s family for five weeks, befriending her dad and going jogging with him. Rachel didn’t notice anything wrong with the relationship and hadn’t detected any abusive behavior. In a statement to the court, Maddie’s friend Abbie Green painted a picture that will be familiar to so many entering adulthood. An iMessage group sharing their secrets with each other, video calls between the three of them, nights out and shopping trips. Abbie and Maddie had been friends since year nine, when Maddie had moved to Chatteris in the Fens. They later met the beautician Harley and the three of them became inseparable. Maddy started seeing Ben Green at Christmas 2019 and told her friends she could be jealous. “I thought he was pretty controlled,” Abby said. “But it made Maddy happy.” The pair did not speak for three days after Ben was upset that Maddy had told him she found a man on ITV’s Love Island attractive. He would call her when she was out and then wait for her to come home. Maddy had planned to go on holiday to Jamaica with family members, but Ben was not invited, causing arguments. Ben was upset that Maddy would rather spend time with her family than with him. She told her friends that she wasn’t sure what to do with Ben and that they were on separate paths. On August 25, the day before Maddie’s death, the trio discussed her options and Maddie decided to go see Ben after work the next day to break up with him. He told the group that he “wouldn’t let her do it over text” and that he felt he owed it to him to do it face-to-face. At 3.35 p.m. the following day, she texted her friends from work, saying “I’m so nervous” and then at 5.51pm. she asked her friends to call her in an hour if they hadn’t heard from her. A minute later he texted them with the message ‘Love You XX’. That was the last message he sent. The group never heard from Maddie again and tried to text and call her on multiple occasions that night. Abby even tried calling Ben’s phone and left a message at 10.10pm that night to check everything was ok. The next morning, August 27, they continued to try to contact their friend, but got no response, so they contacted Maddie’s mom, Rachel. At 1.30 p.m. that day, officers were called to the home in Kettering where Ben had moved shortly before the murder, to do a welfare check. There, they found Ben in the kitchen in a pool of blood and Maddy upstairs in bed. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. The doors and windows were all locked except for a back patio door. There were no bloody marks on the floor to suggest an intruder was responsible. Mandy had three stab wounds to her left shoulder and chest. She may have been alive for a short time after being stabbed, but a pathologist told the court he could not say how long she lived. In one of her wounds was found the blade of a broken knife, the handle of which had been left nearby. Her cell phone was next to the bed. Ben was discovered downstairs with a knife next to him. He had a large gash that had severed his jugular vein and other more superficial injuries to his wrists. There was also a possible defensive wound found on the palm of his hand. He had a small amount of alcohol in his blood. Officers who analyzed the health app on Maddie’s apple watch were unable to get detailed data, but found her heart rate recordings had stopped just before 6pm. Rachel Durdant-Hollamby told the inquest: “I feel like our lives have been ruined. I can’t exactly see a way forward. “I’m trying to keep it together for Fabian. I want the rest of his childhood to be as wonderful as Maddy’s.” She said she felt robbed of helping Maddie pick out her wedding dress, picking out furniture with her for her home and kissing her babies. “I just miss him,” Rachel said. “There is a huge hole in our lives where Maddy should be. She was just perfect and tender. We want back. “We were best friends. She will always be my best friend. My heart is broken.” Recording a verdict of unlawful murder, the ever-stoic coroner Anne Pember became emotional and had to stop. He said: “In my 27 years as a coroner I think this is the saddest case I have ever heard of. I can’t imagine your pain over the loss of your daughter. I am truly sorry for your loss.” Following Maddie’s death, a separate inquest was held into Ben Green’s death. The coroner’s verdict was that he committed suicide. The court heard it was impossible to say the time she died, but it was possible she had lived for some time after the injuries. There was no evidence of a break-in.
Who was Ben Green?
The court heard that Ben Green was born in Dewsbury in Yorkshire, with three siblings. His mom had passed away in 2015 and her death had a big impact on Ben. He had studied at Manchester Metropolitan University before moving to Liverpool and getting married. He was married for ten years and had three children before his marriage broke up in 2007. He had an amicable relationship with his ex-wife who, on hearing the horrific news, said: “She wouldn’t hurt a fly.” He regularly saw his children on Saturdays, driving to their home in Wirrall. He had moved to Northampton for work and his brother told the court he seemed happy. Ben’s family and friends had also tried to contact him when no one had heard from him on the day of his death. His brother Thomas Green told the court: “Ben is not violent. I think he would have contacted before doing something like that. It’s a big shock.” Ben had no history of domestic violence.
