Teen murderer who mowed down and killed ‘beautiful’ mum-of-three sentenced

A 19-year-old murderer who killed a mum-of-three after driving into her outside a social club in Cardiff has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 17 years.

Kian Bateman, 19 but 18 at the time of the murder, deliberately drove into reiki healer Shelley Davies, 38, and her partner David Bratcher, 40, outside the 4th Glamorgan Homeguard Club in Caerau in a Seat Ibiza Sport on September 27 last year after Mr Bratcher had been involved in a fight with Bateman’s brother.

Bateman was captured in video footage inhaling laughing gas minutes before he mowed down Ms Davies, and the following morning many laughing gas canisters could be seen strewn over the floor near the incident as forensics teams worked at the scene behind a large police cordon. Bateman’s car was later found abandoned with the nitrous oxide canisters on the passenger seat.

Ms Davies had suffered multiple injuries including fractures to her vertebrae, ribs, arm and pelvis, along with internal injuries, and she needed immediate surgery where surgeons attempted to put her pelvis back together, but while in hospital she suffered complications, contracted multiple infections and went into septic shock before she died on October 18.

The full story of Shelley Davies’ death: How a night out with friends ended in tragedy

Following a two-week trial at Cardiff Crown Court in April a jury found Bateman guilty of the much-loved mum’s murder. Bateman had accepted he caused Ms Davies’ death but he denied he deliberately drove at her or intended to cause her serious injury.

Following his arrest Bateman told police his car had been surrounded by people and said he was “frightened”, but prosecution barrister Michael Jones KC told jurors CCTV footage of the scene at the time showed the car Bateman was driving wasn’t surrounded by people.

Bateman, from Heol Muston in Ely, was found guilty of the murder of Ms Davies but was cleared of the attempted murder of Mr Bratcher, although he was found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

As he was taken down following his sentencing by Judge Mary Stacey on Friday afternoon cries of “love you Ki” could be heard from the public gallery before shouting broke out outside court.

Ms Davies’ mum Sharon Hillard paid a moving tribute to her daughter in a heartbreaking statement in court. She said: “Shelley was my sunshine on a rainy day, my pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. She was my beautiful, free-spirited girl and the heart and soul of our family. She was the glue that held every single one of us together. She was a diamond.

“She was the most unselfish person I have ever known in my life. She didn’t ask for much – just made do with what she had. It’s hard to look back on that. She deserved so much more than she had and what happened to her.

“When her father and I got divorced she was a tower of strength and swapped roles with us, she supported us through it. She was the architect of the family unit and did so much more than provide a place to gather. She provided everything.

“Not just Christmas and birthdays – she found any excuse to bring us together. Even a Saturday afternoon she made sure everything was done and every detail was taken care of so we could be together as a family.

“She was loud, vibrant, and possessed a dry sense of humour that could light up the darkest room. She wasn’t perfect, she never portrayed herself to be, that was what was so likeable about her. What you saw was what you got. She was just a beautiful soul and a real human being.

“She was fearfully true to herself and had no fear. She was my confidant, protector, my friend and an amazing daughter. I’m so incredibly proud of the woman she was becoming. She wondered all her life what her purpose would be, she knew there was a reason, she just had to find it.”

The court heard Ms Davies was a reiki healer who helped people struggling with addiction, while Ms Hillard said her daughter had helped save the lives of 11 people through her work. Ms Hillard added: “She made me burst with pride.”

The trial heard how Bateman drove at the couple after Mr Bratcher had been involved in an altercation with Bateman’s brother, Kai. Bateman’s aunt Louise was also hit by the car.

Ms Davies had been at an event by ragga artist and DJ General Levy at the social club on the night. Her father Sean Davies told the court how he’d had a conversation with his daughter hours before.

He said: “It was only a couple of hours before this we were outside the front of your house having a laugh and talking about booking a holiday back to France, to Normandy. You were excited about going out that evening.

“Then came the devastating phone call from your sister and it felt like I was hit by a bat. You were in surgery at the time to try and save your life. You gave the best effort to survive and it breaks my heart to say it wasn’t enough.”

Ms Davies’ daughter also wrote a statement which was read to the court by junior prosecution barrister Dean Pullen. She said: “She was our best friend and the most loving person to exist. Now more than ever I feel like a deer in the headlights. It’s hard to comprehend how I am going to manage the rest of my life without her.

“When I see similar car to one that killed my mum I relive it in my head. It’s hard for my siblings to have to grow up without their mother. Going through everything now she’s gone feels like a huge chunk of us has been taken away and left with a gaping hole.

“I see other people spending time with their mothers and I feel envy. The closest thing I have to hugging my mum is hugging her grave. This pain is something no one should have to suffer from, especially from such a young age.”

In mitigation Caroline Rees KC referred to Bateman’s remorse when it came to Ms Davies’ death and her client’s age at the time of the incident – him being just 18 years old. She said there was a lack of pre-meditation and the defendant had no previous convictions.

Judge Stacey sentenced Bateman to life with a minimum term of 17 years. She told Bateman, who wore a black suit and a black tie in the dock, that the time he’d already spent on remand would be deducted from the sentence.

As he was taken down by the dock officers a man and woman in the public gallery could be heard saying: “Love you Ki.” A number of people then left the packed public gallery together before shouting could be heard outside the courtroom.

After sentencing Ms Hillard told gathered press outside the court that she wasn’t happy with the way the case had been handled. She said: “Today’s sentencing marks the conclusion of only one chapter in our fight for Shelley.

“She was the heart and soul of our family—a free-spirited, fun-loving, beautiful, and gifted reiki healer whose life was needlessly and violently stolen from us.

“From the very beginning we have maintained that the investigation was flawed and incomplete. South Wales Police and the CPS took the easiest route possible to secure a single conviction rather than facing the whole truth.

“While a detective superintendent from homicide had the audacity to sit in my living room, surrounded by photos of Shelley, and proudly boast to me, her mother, that they got a great result, we have only ever been met by silence, lies, and attempts to manage, belittle, and disrespect our legal challenges by both the investigating officer and the wider homicide team.

“Our family refuses to accept these half-measures of justice. Shelley was a mother, a daughter, a sister, a beautiful living soul—not a statistic or a tick on a scorecard.

“We do not accept that a single individual bears the sole responsibility for Shelley’s death, and we are currently pursuing a formal Victims’ Right to Review to ensure that everyone involved in the violence that surrounded her death, in whatever part they played, are fully held to account in law, even though we have only been met by silence from the appeals unit so far. Shelley deserves more and we will not stop fighting for her, not until true justice is served.”

After sentencing detective superintendent Mark O’Shea from South Wales Police said: “The evidence that was presented to the Crown Prosecution Service led to them considering in detail the detailed evidence we gathered. The incident itself was largely captured on CCTV, so it’s unequivocal as to what took place.

“It’s the CPS’ responsibility to consider what charges to lay in the circumstances, and in careful and considered analysis of the evidence – supported by King’s Counsel – they decided on the charges. Those charges are then presented to the court and the jury then come to a determination, which they have done.”

He added: “On September 27, 2025, Shelley Davies, a mum of three, went on a night out to watch live music at a local social club with her partner David Bratcher, but tragically never went home after suffering fatal injuries. The court found that Kian Bateman deliberately drove at Shelley and seriously injuring David.

“Shelley was loved dearly, and is greatly missed, by her family and friends. Our thoughts remain with them today as they have been throughout this horrendous ordeal. We would like to thank all the witnesses who assisted the investigation, the Caerau community, as well as the prosecution team.”