THE family of a woman found hanging after an alleged sex game with her cousin broke down in tears as he was cleared of manslaughter.
Mother-of-two Dawn Warburton, 40, was found hanging naked above her bloodstained bed with more than 30 injuries.
Her cousin Mark Pickford was sleeping beneath her dead body when police arrived at her flat in Westbourne Avenue, west Hull.
A jury found Mr Pickford, 41, not guilty of manslaughter and assaulting her before she died after spending seven hours and 42 minutes deliberating at Hull Crown Court.
After the verdicts were read out, Miss Warburton's daughter Samantha broke down and shouted to Mr Pickford: "You're horrible doing that to my mum."
Other members of the family left the court, simply saying: "Unbelievable".
Detective Superintendent Christine Wilson, who investigated Miss Warburton's death, said her family had been dignified throughout the case.
She said: "Dawn's family have been incredibly strong and very unified. They have acted with huge dignity.
"To them, she was Dawn. Yes, she was sometimes misguided, but she was loved by her family regardless.
"Dawn idolised her kids. She would do anything for them and she wanted to be involved in their future.
"It is a real tragedy that she is not going to get to see them grow up.
The really strong message that comes through is how much she loved her children."
After her death, Miss Warburton's sister Julie Thompson said: "Dawn was loving, caring, kind and thoughtful. Dawn always offered a beautiful smile to life, which will remain with us all forever.
"Dawn and I had a very strong relationship and I will always remember the fun and happy times we spent together, of which there were many."
Miss Warburton was found with a tow rope from Mr Pickford's car wrapped around her neck several times.
When he was asked by police how long she had been in that position for, Mr Pickford said: "About half an hour, since the sex."
He claimed they had never engaged in violent sex, despite exchanging more than 400 text messages in which he told her he would beat her and tie her up.
In one message Pickford sent five days before her death on April 13, last year, he wrote: "Gonna tie you up for a couple of days next time I come up, bite you, burn you."
He also told her: "I'll kick your head in, use you and abuse you."
Prosecutors said Mr Pickford was guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence because he breached his "duty of care" towards her.
But a jury believed his account that he was unconscious and unaware she had a rope around her neck.
Giving evidence at his trial, Mr Pickford said he "blacked out" after drinking and taking drugs on the day of her death and could not remember anything between 5pm and when he was woken by police at about 9pm.
He confirmed he and Miss Warburton were the only people in her flat for those four hours.
Miss Warburton's neighbour Maggie Hannan said she heard Miss Warburton scream, "get off me" three times at around 5.30pm before hearing a man shout: "Dawn, Dawn."
His socks were heavily stained with Miss Warburton's blood and three hairs from her head were found on his face.
Det Supt Wilson said cases involving alleged sex games are rare and difficult to investigate because there are no witnesses.
She said: "Cases like this are very unusual, nationally as well as internationally. They obviously present us with a really complex set of circumstances to investigate."
After the verdicts were given, Judge Jeremy Richardson QC told the jury: "This has been an unpleasant and disagreeable case in many respects for you and everybody connected with it. Thank you for your service."
Mum found suspended above her bloodstained bedON MARCH 22 last year, Dawn Warburton decided to get back in touch with her cousin Mark Pickford.
After being out of touch for more than a year, she sent him the simple text message: "How's tricks cuz?"
Less than a month later, she was found suspended above her bloodstained bed, with Mr Pickford sleeping below her dead body.
After exchanging a few messages on March 22, Miss Warburton confessed that she was feeling lonely. Talk soon turned to sex and, a few days later, Mr Pickford travelled more than 100 miles from his home in Manchester to visit her in Hull. Before he set off, he asked her to confirm he was "on a promise" of sex.
After that first visit, he would travel to her flat every week, where they would drink, take drugs and have sex.
