What happened to Sarah Somerset-How? The woman and her lover-carer George Webb have been jailed for keeping her disabled husband Tom Somerset-How in slavery/servitude.
Mr Somerset-How who has spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy and requires 24-hour care was lived with his wife Sarah until they decided to get a caretaker.
His wife Sarah Somerset-How hired George Webb as a live-in carer at their home in Chichester, West Sussex.
The couple lived a normal life out of the spotlight until it was revealed that she had imprisoned her disabled spouse in their home.
Sarah and Webber turned out to be lovers who had several affairs in the same house with her disabled hubby while they kept him locked in a room.
The woman, and the man she was having an affair with, have since been jailed for their treatment of Tom.
Everythning about the woman, her husband and carer who turned out to be her secret lover explored.
Who is Sarah Somerset-How and what crimes did she commit?
Sarah Somerset-How is a former executive assistant who has previously worked for accountancy firm KPMG and lawyers Irwin Mitchell.
She married Tom Somerset-How in 2012 and brought in carer George Webb in 2016 to help her husband.
Tom, who has cerebral palsy and needs 24-hour care, soon realised that his wife and his carer had begun an affair.
At Somerset-How and Webb’s 2023 trial, the court heard how Sarah kept Tom in bed for 90 per cent of the time, and that he “lived like a dog”.
While Sarah carried out her affair with Webb, her husband was only given crisps and a sandwich for food.
He was also forced to lie in bed as he heard his carer having sex with his wife.
Judge William Ashworth told how Tom was “held in slavery” for at least two years “deprived of adequate food or water, kept away from his family with the curtains drawn, frequently in his own urine and excrement, unwashed and unkempt”.
Tom was only allowed to shower once a week during his ordeal and his teeth hadn’t been brushed for a year when he was discovered by his sister, Holby City star Kate Somerset-Holmes.
Somerset-Holmes discovered her brother “disorientated and very, very thin” after managing to “ambush” Webb to gain access to her brother inside his house in Chichester, West Sussex.
Since being rescued in 2020, Tom has lived in residential care and is now preparing to move into a new flat closer to his family.
Where is Sarah Somerset-How now?
In July 2023, both Somerset-How and Webb were jailed for 11 years for their crimes.
The pair were found guilty of holding a person in slavery or servitude after a four-week trial at Portsmouth crown court.
They were, however, cleared of charges relating to alleged ill treatment before 2017.
Webb was also convicted of ill-treatment by a care worker and ABH against Tom after hitting him with a shoe.
Somerset-How was found guilty of aiding and abetting him from 2017 to 2020.
She was found not guilty of fraud and theft over allegations she had spent £12,000 of her husband’s inheritance.
Detective Constable Cheyne Garrett said: “Sarah Somerset-How and George Webb totally betrayed their innocent victim, who relied on them both for the most basic of human needs.
“The scale of their depravity was revealed thanks to the tenacity of a friend who alerted the victim’s family.
“They acted quickly to report their concerns despite Somerset-How and Webb’s efforts to isolate them.
“I would like to thank them for raising the alarm, and the victim in this case for supporting the investigation through to conviction under extremely challenging circumstances.
“No romantic relationship, friendship or working relationship should make you feel unsafe and isolated from friends and family.
“If you feel bullied, trapped, fearful, or someone is telling you that who you are isn’t good enough, please ask for help.”