Kelly Anne Bates was a 17-year-old English girl who tragically lost her life in Manchester, England, at the hands of her abuser, James Patterson Smith. Over a harrowing four-week period, she endured severe torture, which included the horrific act of having her eyes forcibly removed from their sockets up to three weeks prior to her death, culminating in her drowning in a bathtub.

The investigation into her murder was led by Detective Sergeant Joseph Monaghan of Greater Manchester Police, who remarked, In my 15 years of service, I have never encountered a case as appalling as this." William Lawler, the pathologist who conducted the examination of Bates' remains, characterized her injuries as the most severe he had ever observed in a murder victim. Despite having a documented history of violence and abuse towards previous partners, Smith denied the charges of murder but was ultimately found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment on 19 November 1997.

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