Sarah Wellgreen disappeared in October 2018. She was a mother of five. She was pregnant. Her body has never been found. For years, her killer, Ben Lacomba, held onto a 42-year sentence that many felt didn't match the calculated cruelty of his actions. That changed when the Court of Appeal stepped in to increase his sentence to a whole-life order. It’s a rare, hauntingly permanent legal decision. It means he’ll never breathe free air again.
This isn't just about one man going to jail forever. It's about how the UK legal system views "double malice"—the killing of a woman and her unborn child. When a murderer refuses to reveal where a body is, they extend the torture of the living. The court finally decided that 42 years wasn't enough for that kind of psychological warfare.
Why the original sentence failed the family
In 2019, Lacomba was convicted of murdering Sarah at their shared home in New Ash Green, Kent. The trial painted a picture of a man obsessed with control. He didn't want to lose his house or his children in a custody battle. So, he killed her. He then spent hours driving through the night, disposal in mind, expertly avoiding CCTV.
The initial 42-year term was massive. Usually, that’s a lifetime for someone in their late 30s. But in the eyes of the law, a "determinate" sentence—even a long one—offers a glimmer of hope. It offers a release date. For Sarah's family, that date was a ticking clock. They've spent years searching through muddy ditches and dense woodland. They’ve done the work the killer refused to do. Giving him a chance at parole felt like a slap in the face to their tireless efforts.
The chilling reality of whole life orders
Whole-life orders are the absolute ceiling of British sentencing. They’re reserved for the "worst of the worst." Think Rose West or Wayne Couzens. By moving Lacomba into this category, the judges sent a clear message about domestic homicides involving pregnancy.
The Court of Appeal looked at the premeditation. This wasn't a "crime of passion" or a heat-of-the-moment mistake. Lacomba switched off his phone. He parked his car in a specific way to hide his movements. He cleaned the house. He played the part of the worried partner while knowing exactly where she lay. The "no body" element is a massive factor here. It's a form of ongoing victimisation.
Understanding the legal shift in 2026
The landscape of sentencing has shifted toward recognizing the unique horror of femicide. We're seeing less leniency for "domestic" contexts. Historically, courts sometimes treated "crimes at home" as somehow less predatory than a random attack on a stranger. That's nonsense. Killing someone who trusts you, in the place they should be safest, is arguably more heinous.
Lacomba’s case was referred under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme. It’s a vital tool. It allows the Attorney General to ask the Court of Appeal to review a sentence if it stays too low. In this instance, the judges agreed that the original judge didn't weigh the "total lack of remorse" and the "pre-planned execution" heavily enough.
The agony of the missing body
The most brutal part of this story is the silence. Sarah’s children are growing up without a grave to visit. They don't have that basic human right of a final goodbye. Lacomba has the power to give them that. He chooses not to.
Under "Helen’s Law"—named after Helen McCourt—parole boards can already deny release to killers who hide remains. But a whole-life order takes the decision out of the Parole Board's hands entirely. It ends the cycle of family members having to attend hearings every few years to argue why a monster should stay locked up.
If you’re following this case, the shift to a life-means-life sentence provides a grim kind of closure. It doesn't bring Sarah back. It doesn't find her. But it ensures the man responsible loses his life in the same way he took hers—completely and without any hope of return.
What this means for future cases
This ruling sets a precedent. It tells prosecutors to push for the maximum when pregnancy and body concealment are involved. We should expect more "life-long" designations in high-profile domestic murders. The era of getting 25 years for killing a partner is ending.
If you want to support the search for Sarah or similar causes, look into the work of Locate International. They work on cold cases and missing person files that have gone stagnant. They rely on public tips and specialized volunteers to do what the police sometimes can't. Keep the names of the missing alive. That’s the only way they ever come home.
