Jury retires to consider verdicts in Christmas Day stabbing murder trial
Prosecutors allege Carless, of Haling Way in Cannock, Staffordshire, took a kitchen knife in a taxi from her home to Mr Price's parents' address in Elm Road, Norton Canes, where she expected to find him with a woman.
CCTV showed Carless running up the front path into the house and then 'stalking' him around the garden before he was later found with a single stab wound to the chest on the conservatory floor.
The court was told Carless had called Mr Price 45 times between 2.15am and 2.44am while she waited for the taxi to take her to his address and called the cab company two more times during that time to find out where it was.
She is said to have asked the taxi driver to wait outside while she went in the property to stab Mr Price at around 3am, before fleeing minutes later in the cab to her parents' address, where she was arrested.
Father-of-six Mr Price had been considered by police to be 'at very high risk of domestic abuse' and Carless was on police bail at the time of the fatal stabbing after allegedly strangling Mr Price on November 11 2024.
In her evidence to the trial, Carless said she had no recollection of stabbing him, was 'not a violent person' and had only gone to Mr Price's address as she believed he had taken money from inside a card she had in her home.
She said she picked up a knife with intent to destroy the caravan he was staying in in his parents' back garden and had 'panicked' after Mr Price was stabbed and fled.
She denies murder and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place in relation to the fatal stabbing, and intentional strangling and assault occasioning actual bodily harm in relation to the incident in November.
The jury were sent out to start their deliberations by judge Mr Justice Choudhury at 11.41am on Monday.
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Woman murdered ex-partner on Christmas Day after seeing his Tinder profile
A woman who stabbed her ex-partner in the heart on Christmas Day after seeing his Tinder profile has been found guilty of his murder. Kirsty Carless, 33, plunged a knife into the heart of 31-year-old Louis Price in the early hours of 25 December 2024, in an attack "motivated by anger and jealousy and fuelled by cocaine and alcohol," after a friend sent her a picture of his Tinder profile, Stafford Crown Court heard. Carless had been on police bail for strangling Price the month before. After about a day of deliberations on Wednesday, a jury of seven men and five women found her guilty of murder and possession of an offensive weapon by unanimous verdicts regarding the fatal stabbing. Carless was also found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in connection with an incident in November 2024. She was cleared of intentional strangulation in relation to the same incident. Carless, of Cannock, Staffordshire, had been at the pub drinking double vodka and cokes with a male friend on Christmas Eve, the trial was told. She had sex with the male three times at his home before a female friend sent her a screenshot of Price's Tinder profile at around 1.30am on Christmas Day, which the court heard made her angry. Carless took a taxi back to her house, picked up a kitchen knife, and got another taxi to Mr Price's parents' home in Norton Canes, where she expected to find him with a woman. CCTV footage captured her sprinting up the front path into the house and then following him through the garden, before he was later discovered with a single stab wound to the chest on the conservatory floor. Carless made 45 calls to Price between 2.15am and 2.44am while waiting for a taxi. She only briefly paused what the prosecution described as a "barrage" of calls to contact the taxi company and check on its arrival. After arriving at the address around 3am, Carless asked the taxi driver to wait outside while she went into the property. The taxi driver reported that about 30 seconds after Carless entered the property with a key, he heard a "very loud and prolonged" scream. Carless was "anxious and sweating" as she got back into the taxi less than two minutes after arriving. She asked the driver to take her to her parents' home, where she confessed to what she had done, and the police were called. Price, a father of six children, was considered by police to be "at very high risk of domestic abuse," and Carless was on police bail at the time of the fatal stabbing, after strangling him in November 2024. During this incident, Price called 999 to say Carless had poured bleach over expensive tracksuits, after putting them in the bin, had thrown a glass candle holder at him, pulled him down the stairs, and choked him. Police body-worn camera footage showed him in tears, telling an officer, "It's f****** embarrassing… this can't keep happening, man." In a witness statement following the incident, he described the relationship, which began in 2021, as "generally abusive," saying she prevented him from doing activities he enjoyed, like playing football, and had physically assaulted him. Police were also called to several previous incidents, including one in March 2023, when Carless claimed that Price had punched her and had been violent. He was arrested, but Carless later retracted her statement. On another occasion, a neighbour recalled seeing Carless strike Price in the ribs with a metal pole outside her house. In her testimony at the trial, Carless said she had no memory of stabbing Price, insisted she was "not a violent person," and stated she had only gone to his address because she believed he had taken money from a card she kept at her home. Carless stated that she grabbed a knife to destroy the caravan where he was staying in his parents' backyard, that she "panicked" after stabbing him, and then fled.
Daily Mail
7 hours ago
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Moment jealous ex-girlfriend chases ex around the garden with knife before stabbing him through the heart on Christmas Day after finding his Tinder profile
A 'manipulative and jealous' woman who stabbed her ex-partner in the heart on Christmas Day after finding his Tinder profile has been found guilty of his murder. Kirsty Carless, 33, plunged a knife into 31-year-old Louis Price's heart in the early hours of December 25, 2024, in an attack 'motivated by anger and jealousy and fuelled by cocaine and alcohol '. She had been drinking double vodka and cokes with a male friend at the pub before going back to his home to have sex multiple times, Stafford Crown Court heard. At around 1.30am on Christmas Day, a friend sent her a screenshot of Mr Price's Tinder profile. In a furious rage Carless armed herself with a kitchen knife and ordered a taxi to his parents' house to confront him. Harrowing CCTV footage shows Carless storming up towards the house and 'stalking' Mr Price around the garden while menacingly waving the knife towards his face. Seconds later the taxi driver heard a 'very loud and prolonged' scream before Carless emerged for the house 'anxious and sweating' after leaving Mr Price to die on the conservatory floor. Carless then went to her parents house where she admitted what she had done and called 999. Bodycam footage of her arrest shows the remorseless killer sitting on a sofa as a police officer places her in handcuffs. Carless pleaded guilty to manslaughter but denied murdering her ex, instead claiming he had taken money her and planned to destroy the caravan he was living in. On Wednesday, after around a day of deliberation, a jury of seven men and five women found her guilty of murder and possession of an offensive weapon by unanimous verdicts in relation to the fatal stabbing. She was also found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm by a majority of 11 to one in connection with an incident in November 2024. She was cleared of intentional strangulation in relation to the same incident. The trial was told Carless, of Haling Way in Cannock, Staffordshire, had been at the pub drinking double vodka and cokes with a male friend on December 24. She later had sex with the male three times at his home before a female friend sent her a screenshot of Mr Price's Tinder profile at around 1.30am on Christmas Day, which left her angry. Carless then left the male friend's home, took a taxi back to her house, where she picked up a kitchen knife and got another taxi to Mr Price's parents' address in Elm Road, Norton Canes, where she expected to find him with a woman. Carless had called Mr Price 45 times between 2.15am and 2.44am while she waited for the taxi to take her to the address where he had been staying since their relationship ended - only breaking up what prosecution counsel Jonas Hankin KC called the 'barrage' of calls to impatiently phone the company to check where her taxi was. After arriving at the address, Carless asked the taxi driver to wait outside while she went into the property to stab Mr Price at around 3am. The taxi driver reported that around 30 seconds after Carless let herself into the property with a key, he heard a 'very loud and prolonged' scream from a man and that he 'sounded scared'. Less than two minutes after arriving at the scene, Carless was 'anxious and sweating' as she got back into the taxi and demanded the driver take her to her parents' home, where she admitted what she had done and 999 was called. Father-of-six Mr Price had been considered by police to be 'at very high risk of domestic abuse' and Carless was on police bail at the time of the fatal stabbing after strangling Mr Price on November 11 2024. On that occasion, Mr Price phoned 999 to say Carless had poured bleach over tracksuits worth £400 after she put them in the bin, had thrown a glass candle holder at him, pulled him down the stairs and choked him. He was seen crying on police body-worn video footage, telling the officer: 'It's f****** embarrassing... it can't keep happening, man.' In a witness statement after the incident, he said the relationship, which started in 2021, had been 'on the whole, abusive', that she had stopped him doing things he liked, such as playing football and had physically abused him. The trial was told of several previous incidents in which the police had been called, including an incident on March 5 2023, in which Carless had said Mr Price had punched her and been violent and he was arrested, before later retracting her statement. A neighbour had recalled seeing Carless hitting Mr Price with a metal pole in the ribs outside her house on a different occasion. Mr Price's friend, Demi-Louise Deakin, also told the trial he had confided in her about his on-off relationship with Carless when they attended a funeral at the end of November 2024, telling her he was 'scared of Kirsty' and feared 'something bad would happen' if he did not leave her. In her evidence to the trial, Carless said she had no recollection of stabbing him, was 'not a violent person' and had only gone to Mr Price's address as she believed he had taken money from inside a card she had in her home. She said she picked up a knife with the intent to destroy the caravan he was staying in in his parents' back garden and had 'panicked' after Mr Price was stabbed and fled. Judge Mr Justice Choudhury thanked the jury for their service and said Carless would be sentenced on Thursday.
South Wales Guardian
8 hours ago
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Jealous woman who stabbed ex in heart on Christmas Day guilty of his murder
Kirsty Carless, 33, plunged a knife into 31-year-old Louis Price's heart in the early hours of December 25 2024, in an attack 'motivated by anger and jealousy and fuelled by cocaine and alcohol' after a friend sent her a picture of his Tinder profile, Stafford Crown Court heard. On Wednesday, after around a day of deliberation, a jury of seven men and five women found her guilty of murder and possession of an offensive weapon by unanimous verdicts in relation to the fatal stabbing. She was also found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm by a majority of 11 to one in connection with an incident in November 2024. She was cleared of intentional strangulation in relation to the same incident. The trial was told Carless, of Haling Way in Cannock, Staffordshire, had been at the pub drinking double vodka and cokes with a male friend on December 24. She later had sex with the male three times at his home before a female friend sent her a screenshot of Mr Price's Tinder profile at around 1.30am on Christmas Day, which left her angry. Carless then left the male friend's home, took a taxi back to her house, where she picked up a kitchen knife and got another taxi to Mr Price's parents' address in Elm Road, Norton Canes, where she expected to find him with a woman. CCTV showed her running up the front path into the house and then 'stalking' him around the garden before he was later found with a single stab wound to the chest on the conservatory floor. Carless had called Mr Price 45 times between 2.15am and 2.44am while she waited for the taxi to take her to the address where he had been staying since their relationship ended – only breaking up what prosecution counsel Jonas Hankin KC called the 'barrage' of calls to impatiently phone the company to check where her taxi was. After arriving at the address, Carless asked the taxi driver to wait outside while she went into the property to stab Mr Price at around 3am. The taxi driver reported that around 30 seconds after Carless let herself into the property with a key, he heard a 'very loud and prolonged' scream from a man and that he 'sounded scared'. Less than two minutes after arriving at the scene, Carless was 'anxious and sweating' as she got back into the taxi and demanded the driver take her to her parents' home, where she admitted what she had done and 999 was called. Father-of-six Mr Price had been considered by police to be 'at very high risk of domestic abuse' and Carless was on police bail at the time of the fatal stabbing after strangling Mr Price on November 11 2024. On that occasion, Mr Price phoned 999 to say Carless had poured bleach over tracksuits worth £400 after she put them in the bin, had thrown a glass candle holder at him, pulled him down the stairs and choked him. He was seen crying on police body-worn video footage, telling the officer: 'It's f****** embarrassing… it can't keep happening, man.' In a witness statement after the incident, he said the relationship, which started in 2021, had been 'on the whole, abusive', that she had stopped him doing things he liked, such as playing football and had physically abused him. The trial was told of several previous incidents in which the police had been called, including an incident on March 5 2023, in which Carless had said Mr Price had punched her and been violent and he was arrested, before later retracting her statement. A neighbour had recalled seeing Carless hitting Mr Price with a metal pole in the ribs outside her house on a different occasion. Mr Price's friend, Demi-Louise Deakin, also told the trial he had confided in her about his on-off relationship with Carless when they attended a funeral at the end of November 2024, telling her he was 'scared of Kirsty' and feared 'something bad would happen' if he did not leave her. In her evidence to the trial, Carless said she had no recollection of stabbing him, was 'not a violent person' and had only gone to Mr Price's address as she believed he had taken money from inside a card she had in her home. She said she picked up a knife with the intent to destroy the caravan he was staying in in his parents' back garden and had 'panicked' after Mr Price was stabbed and fled. Judge Mr Justice Choudhury thanked the jury for their service and said Carless would be sentenced on Thursday.
