Chelmsford: Man jailed for murder of beloved mum-of-two

A man convicted of murdering his ex-partner in Chelmsford has been jailed for life today – thanks to the work of investigators who unravelled his lies.

Mark Donovan, 39, inflicted 70 separate injuries on 37-year-old Elise Mason in a sustained attack at his address in Great Baddow, on 25 April 2023.

Our investigation began after Donovan walked into Ilford police station, in east London, the following day.

He entered the police station eating a takeaway Chinese meal, before telling Metropolitan Police officers he had done “the worst thing”.

The officers were concerned about his comments and behaviour and asked Essex Police to call at Donovan’s home address.

When our officers arrived at the address, in Rothmans Avenue, they found Elise unresponsive, with extensive injuries later found to be consistent with blows to the head and strangulation.

A post-mortem examination would later find bruises to her hands and forearms consistent with defensive injuries.

An investigation led by our Serious Crime Directorate worked to establish a timeline of Donovan’s actions, contacts and behaviour in the hours following the murder.

He made a number of journeys in Essex - including to a pub and a massage parlour - and into east London in those hours.

He then handed himself in at Ilford police station in the early hours of 26 April.

We also established that Donovan had taken Elise’s phone from the Rothmans Avenue home before then hiding it in the cistern of a toilet in the pub he had visited. That discovery also led to us making a number of other forensic discoveries.

Donovan was charged with and denied murder, standing trial at Chelmsford Crown Court.

On Friday 28 February 2025, he was convicted by a jury after just three hours of deliberation and, today, Wednesday 5 March, he was sentenced by His Honour Judge Christopher Morgan to a minimum of 16 years.

Detective Inspector James Holmes, who led our investigation, said:

“Today is not in any way about triumph. Today is about Elise and it’s about her friends and her family who continue to feel her loss.
“More than anything else, Mark Donovan’s actions have left Elise’s children without their mum and left her wider family without a loving daughter.
“I know today’s sentence will not bring back Elise or ease her family’s suffering in any way but I do truly hope that there is some comfort knowing that Donovan will spend at least 16 years in jail before he is in any way eligible for release.”

DI Holmes added:

“Donovan’s behaviour in this case is something we see all-to-much of across the country and that is men causing significant violence to women.
“This cannot continue, not in Essex, not anywhere – and it’s why we work so determinedly in our county to work with victims of domestic abuse, to protect them and ultimately take their abusers off our streets.”

The work of Essex Police investigators has ensured the defence put forward by a man after the death of his ex-partner was wholly disproved – and he has now been convicted of her murder.

Mark Donovan, 39, inflicted 70 separate injuries on 37-year-old Elise Mason in a sustained attack at his address in Great Baddow, on 25 April 2023.

Our investigation began after Donovan walked into Ilford police station, in east London, the following day.

He entered the police station eating a takeaway Chinese meal, before telling Metropolitan Police officers he had done “the worst thing”.

The officers were concerned about his comments and behaviour and asked Essex Police to call at Donovan’s home address.

When our officers arrived at the address, in Rothmans Avenue, they found Elise unresponsive, with extensive injuries later found to be consistent with blows to the head and strangulation.

A post-mortem examination would later find bruises to her hands and forearms consistent with defensive injuries.

An investigation led by our Serious Crime Directorate worked to establish a timeline of Donovan’s actions, contacts and behaviour in the hours following the murder.

Tracking a killer's movements

These inquiries found Elise was last seen alive at around 4.09pm on 25 April, captured on CCTV approaching Donovan’s house.

At around 6.30pm that evening, after fatally assaulting Elise and abandoning her body at his home, Donovan was seen entering a nearby pub.

He drank at the pub and concealed his victim’s phone in the pub’s toilets, leaving in a taxi at around 6.50pm.

Donovan then visited a family member, before journeying on to a massage parlour in Chelmsford.

Finding the business closed, he visited a second massage parlour in the Romford area.

He then handed himself in at Ilford police station in the early hours of 26 April.

Manipulation

Our inquiries established Donovan and the victim were married, but we believe their relationship had ceased in 2022.

He continued to send Elise numerous texts and phone calls in a bid to manipulate her and reestablish their relationship.

Donovan was charged with and denied murder, standing trial at Chelmsford Crown Court.

On Friday 28 February 2025, he was convicted by a jury after just three hours of deliberation.

He will be sentenced at the same court on Wednesday 5 March.

Speaking in 2023, Elise's mum said: 

“I have not only lost my daughter, but I have lost my best friend too.
“Elise was a fantastic mother to her children and she was loved by everybody.
“Please respect our privacy at this time.”

Detective Inspector James Holmes, senior investigating officer, said:

“I want to express my heartfelt sympathy to Elise’s family and in particular her two children, who have tragically been left without their mother because of Donovan’s destructive and utterly heartless actions.
“I hope that the jury’s verdict will bring some closure for them, and they can move on with their lives to some degree.
“Mark Donovan is clearly a dangerous, selfish and manipulative man.
“Never content with accepting responsibility for the horrific attack he carried out against Elise, he instead decided to tell officers, medical professionals and a jury a series of awful lies about his victim in a bid to shift the blame onto her.
“Thankfully, due to the evidence we managed to gather, a jury saw through this despicable ploy.
“In reality, Donovan’s warped and self-centred mind could never accept that Elise had moved on from their relationship.
“He killed her in a fit of rage, only handing himself in after enjoying a drink at a pub, a massage and a takeaway meal.
“That behaviour shows the kind of man he is. He can expect to spend the rest of his life where he belongs.”