"My Sister's Tragic Murder: Bludgeoned 20 Times by Jealous Rival, Neighbors Recall Hearing the Killer's Disturbing Screams"

WHEN her younger sister announced that she had met a special someone, Josephine Rule was concerned.

While Joy Boulton had been alone for years, Josephine worried that her new man’s former flame could pose a problem but she could never have imagined just how much.

Joy Boulton was murdered by a jealous love rival Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk Josephine and her sister Joy were close, but grew distant when the relationship started Credit: True Life Stories

Just two years after Joy met her new man she was brutally murdered

Grandmother, Josephine , 73, adored her younger sister, Joy, 59, growing up and they called each other every day.

But Joy was recently bludgeoned to death by a jealous , her fiancé’s ex-partner.

Sara McKenzie, 64, hated Joy for ‘stealing’ her man after and battered her to death last year in a quiet town of Surrey.

Sara McKenzie brutally murdered Joy for ‘stealing’ her man Credit: True Life Stories After turning to alcohol to deal with grief, Joy developed mobility issues Credit: True Life Stories

Josephine, a retired housekeeper for a children’s home, says: “Sara’s motive was simple, she wanted what Joy had.

“Thinking of Joy’s last moments is agony. I hope Sara rots in prison.

“I don’t want my beloved sister to be remembered by this. She had a heart of gold and a hole has been left in my family’s hearts that can never be filled.

“No sentence will bring her back.”

Josephine, from Aldershot, Surrey, has three children, 18 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

Whilst her younger sister, Joy, had no children and lived alone over the years.

Josephine says: “I was 11 years older than Joy. She was my shadow growing up, and I always wanted to protect her no matter what.

“Later in life, we remained very close. Joy got married in her early 20s but it only lasted a year.

“She prioritised our mum, helping look after her over the years. Whilst I had a family of my own.

“But after we lost Mum in 2011, Joy took it the worst and turned to alcohol.

“So much so that later that year, she nearly died, and was put into an induced coma.

“Joy pulled through and survived. But had mobility issues, and had to use a frame to walk.

“She had a carer initially, then adapted to life as a disabled person.

Bodycam footage shows McKenzie being questioned by police Credit: True Life Stories Josephine says she knew Joy was making a mistake Credit: True Life Stories

“She couldn’t work because of it but thankfully she didn’t touch a drop of alcohol ever again. We were all so proud of her.”

In 2021, Josephine’s sister Joy informed her she was in love with a mechanic in the local area.

Josephine says: “He already had a partner, Sara.

“Joy and this man were having an affair and I was really concerned. I told her to stop and that she was going to get herself into trouble.

“I didn’t want anyone taking advantage of my sister either. She’d been so lonely over the years and I knew she was very vulnerable. I kept expressing my concerns to her.

“Little by little, she became more distant as she knew I didn’t approve.

“The more serious her relationship got, she stopped speaking to me.

“Friends and family told me how they’d never seen her smile so much.

“I missed her terribly, and wished we could go back to the way we were.”

The next year, in December 2022, Josephine discovered through Facebook that Joy was engaged.

She soon learned through her grandchildren that Joy’s man had finally left his partner McKenzie.

He’d chosen Joy, swiftly moved into Joy’s house, just a mile away from McKenzie’s home.

Within six weeks, the couple were engaged.

She says: “I’d been telling my grandkids that Joy was making a huge mistake. But I didn’t say anything to Joy.

“She was already engaged and hadn’t told me the news herself as she was probably frightened I’d yell at her or her partner. I decided not to interfere.

“I heard all about what happened through my grandkids though as they’d visit them often.”

Joy got married in her 20s but the marriage only lasted a year Credit: True Life Stories Joy was bludgeoned by McKenzie on the back of her head Credit: True Life Stories

Over the next year, the family kept hearing rumours about McKenzie being desperate to still be with Joy’s partner.

But Josephine still didn’t hear from Joy.

In May 2023, Josephine was at home eating dinner when she got a call from her grandson, who was frantic.

She says: “He told me it was Joy. Her road had been shut off with police tape leading up to her house.

“My heart sank. He picked me up and we drove straight to Joy’s house.

“I ran to the police, telling them I was Joy’s older sister. I begged them to tell me if she was alive.

“They told me she was dead. In that moment, my world ended.

“As I broke down into tears, my grandson helped me back to the car.

“Joy’s partner, who came over to introduce himself.

“He told me he’d been at work all day and Joy hadn’t answered. I was furious and kept quizzing him.”

Later that day, Josephine was informed by the police that his ex-partner, McKenzie, had been arrested.

Her DNA had been found under Joy’s fingernails, and witnesses on the street told how they’d seen her screaming at the house.

Josephine says: “Then, day by day, my family and I slowly discovered what had happened.

“Unable to cope with her partner’s rejection, Sara had showed up to the house.

“Her partner was at work, and Joy was alone.

“Sara confronted her about stealing her man from her, and bludgeoned Joy 20 times on the back of her head with a heavy object. She battered her to death.

“Neighbours heard Sara shouting ‘That’s my husband, that’s my man.’

“I sobbed so much for my little sister. I knew something awful would come from this all.

“Sara was spiteful, and what she’d done was despicable.

“Mine and our family’s hearts were shattered. Months later, I said goodbye at her burial, I couldn’t stand how her life had been robbed from her.

“After everything she’d pulled through in life. She was disabled, and hadn’t touched alcohol in 13 and a half years. She didn’t deserve this.”

Months later, in November 2023, Josephine, her children and grandchildren all faced McKenzie in court.

The family discovered during the trial how McKenzie had been harassing Joy for over a year.

Josephine says: “She’d been showing up at the house, screaming that she was a sl*g and a sl*t, and asking what Joy had that she didn’t have.

“Two weeks before the murder, she’d tried to break in. Joy hadn’t called or told me anything.

“I was crying, thinking how if Joy had just told me what was happening, maybe she’d still be here.

“I would’ve put a stop to it.”

In court, the family watched of Sara being questioned by police.

“She was acting casual with no concern,” Josephine says.

“After the murder, she’d gone to work as normal after, and even filled her car at the petrol station.

“They couldn’t show us the real photos of Joy.

Josephine learned that McKenzie also had an obsession with murder mysteries.

She’d purchased Luminol, a substance that can identify blood traces, and diluted her clothes in her bathtub after.

That week, Sara McKenzie, 62, of Fairview Road, Ash, was found guilty of murder and perverting the course of justice at Guildford Crown Court.

The next month, in December 2023, she was sentenced to 27 years in prison.

Josephine says: “She was pure evil.

“We not only despised Sara but also Joy’s partner too.

“Joy had a heart of gold and a hole has been left in my family’s hearts that can never be filled.

“Whenever I used to feel down, Joy would always tell me to keep my pecker up.

“So whenever I cry, missing her, I think that to myself now.

“I keep my pecker up, and remember her sweet, smiling face up in the sky.”