Man pleads down from murder to manslaughter after accidentally choking girlfriend to death during sex
The rough sex defense was recently outlawed in the UK after being regularly seen in practice, even getting the “50 Shades” nickname.
The rough sex defense was recently outlawed in the UK after being regularly seen in practice, even getting the “50 Shades” nickname.

A UK man pled guilty on Friday at Teesside Crown Court after unintentionally killing his girlfriend by choking her out during rough sex.
According to Daily Mail, 31-year-old Sam Pybus had to get 33-year-old Sophie Moss to a hospital after a go in the sack got out of hand. She was pronounced dead by medical officials soon after.
Pybus faced a murder charge but pleaded not guilty to that. Instead, he pled guilty to manslaughter in what’s described as an “unlawful killing.”
His legal representation laid out the circumstances in the situation:
The Sun further says that this was a common defense in England and Wales. The “50 Shades” rough sex defense first faced a formal ban in July of last year. MPs in the Houses of Common passed it through as an amendment on their Domestic Abuse Bill.
It was in domestic abuse situations the excuse was often seen.
“We now have it enshrined in statute that no one can consent to serious harm, or indeed their own death, for the purposes of sexual gratification,” said Justice Secretary Robert Buckland at the time.
But it had to get through the House of Lords. So it wasn’t until the end of April 2021 that the “rough sex defense” was officially outlawed.
Sam Pybus is set to be sentenced on September 7th.
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