SAMANTHA Henderson was remembered by friends and family throughout the trial of partner Dominic Isom as a "devoted" mother to her four children.

In turn, she shared a close bond to her own mother Janelle Henderson, who described her as "generous and loving".

And these aspects of her nature extended into her relationship with Isom.

The two initially became close while both were in relationships, and in 2011, decided they couldn't be apart from one another.

At the time, Ms Henderson was living in a refuge in Southampton, and Mrs Henderson told jurors Isom would hitch hike and cycle from his home in Hamworthy to be with her.

Mrs Henderson added that the couple "wanted to be together all the time".

"If they were apart, they were texting," she said.

The two even made a pact that no one would keep them apart, but prosecutor Ian Lawrie QC said their former relationships "cast a long shadow" over them as they attempted to move forward together.

As a likely result of this, Ms Henderson, Isom and the children eventually moved to Corfe Castle, where they knew no one.

During the early months of the couple living in the village, Mrs Henderson said her daughter "got her sparkle back".

But the relationship became volatile.

Jurors heard allegations that Ms Henderson had "scratched" Isom on two occasions, while Nigel Lickley QC, defending, claimed that Ms Henderson had a "temper" and was not afraid to speak her mind.

Mrs Henderson replied that Isom "pushed and shoved [Ms Henderson] around, he had hit her, and it was the mental abuse my daughter had undergone as well."

She added that she had told the couple "many times" that "if they couldn't put the past behind them, [the relationship] wouldn't work."

Jurors were also to learn that Isom was in April 2013 convicted of assaulting Ms Henderson in a row over her mobile phone.

Despite this, the two remained together, even sharing a joint Facebook page.

In the year before she died, Ms Henderson began to take prescribed anti-depressants, and she lost weight, surviving - her mother believes - on little more than "energy drinks and cigarettes".

At the time of her death, the 25-year-old weighed just under seven stone.

However, it was heard that she hoped to become pregnant with Isom again, and had even looked into adoption.

Mr Lickley asked jurors: "What does that tell you about how she felt about her relationship?"

Ms Henderson had also written entries in her pink Filofax for both Valentine's Day and the couple's planned wedding day, June 15 this year, both surrounded in penned hearts.

In the file were the words, 'Mrs Samantha Zoe Lane' - the surname Isom had been born with, but later changed.

Ian Lawrie QC, prosecuting, said he had no doubt that on some level, Isom loved Ms Henderson "dearly", adding that this fact didn't mean Isom wasn't capable of inflicting harm on her.

For his part, the defendant told jurors he would have to "live the rest of [his] life with the guilt of what he had done".

Indeed, he said he had called Ms Henderson's phone twice after her death, leaving tearful voicemails, because he had "wanted to hear Sam's voice".

He even returned to the lake early on January 22 in order to - he claimed - "spend more time with Sam", though prosecutors cast doubt upon this.

Yet Isom accepted that he was responsible for causing the injuries that led to his partner's death, as well as wrapping her up with his blood-stained slippers and clothes and depositing her body in the lake at Ham Common.