logo
Woman allegedly murdered by ex-fiance at hotel ‘owed him £100,000', court told

Woman allegedly murdered by ex-fiance at hotel ‘owed him £100,000', court told

Samantha Mickleburgh, from Axminster, Devon, was found dead at the Pennyhill Park Hotel in Bagshot, Surrey, on the morning of April 14 last year.
The mother of two, 54, had arranged to stay in a twin room with her ex-fiance, James Cartwright, the night before, because she 'didn't want him to feel lonely' on his birthday, a trial at Guildford Crown Court previously heard.
Cartwright called 999 at about 8.30am on April 14 claiming he had discovered the lifeless body of Ms Mickleburgh lying next to him in bed.
While giving evidence on Monday, Cartwright told the court that Ms Mickleburgh purchased a property to fix up and collected the keys in early March 2023.
They were 'very close' at the time and, in April that year, he lent her £30,000 to fund the development, he told jurors.
She planned to get a mortgage once it was habitable and repay him 'but (the money) ended up running out quite quickly', he added.
She received a mortgage in July that year and they started to live together at the property, the court heard.
By that point Ms Mickleburgh owed him between £40,000 and £50,000, he said.
At the time of her death this had increased to about £100,000, he told the jury.
The defendant said he proposed to Ms Mickleburgh on a beach in autumn 2023, which was met with 'an immediate and emphatic yes'.
'Everything (was) extremely amicable and friendly and loving' during the holiday, he added.
Three days after returning, he noticed a 'highly sexual' WhatsApp message from her former partner on her phone home screen.
Cartwright, who wore a dark suit to his trial, told jurors: 'I was deeply shocked and very upset and very hurt.'
Martin Rutherford, defending Cartwright, asked if he explained his feelings to Ms Mickleburgh during the incident on October 2.
The defendant said: 'Yes, I did, it went not well – Samantha was very embarrassed that I'd seen it and read it and stormed out of the house without any sort of explanation and response, which I was even more upset about.
'She got into her car. It was clear that she was going to drive away. I pulled (the gate) to prevent the car from leaving.
'She chose to drive through the gate and onto the road, so I had to put myself in front of the car to stop her leaving, because the gate hadn't worked.'
He told the court 'I was very embarrassed by my behaviour, I had overreacted' and said he had apologised to Ms Mickleburgh.
The relationship then started to decline, he said.
At the end of October, he saw a WhatsApp message on her laptop from the same man, the court heard.
'There were a very large quantity of messages and they were highly sexually explicit between both of them – it wasn't just one-way traffic, it was both ways,' he said.
'Again, I was absolutely devastated', he said, adding that it had damaged his trust in her.
They continued to live with each other until February 2024 and were physically intimate during that time, he said.
He again found messages between Ms Mickleburgh and her ex-partner around two weeks before he moved out.
Cartwright told the court: 'I chose a different tack and, this time, I didn't disclose to Samantha that I had seen them. I suppose, if I'm honest, I wanted to catch her out.
'I asked her when she'd last had contact with him and she said 'oh, towards October last year – she hadn't heard anything from him since'.
'It was almost terminal on my part, I just couldn't get beyond it.'
He said on February 17 2024, Ms Mickleburgh 'told me that she was really struggling, she had an awful lot of things going on in her life, different pressures, with family, looking for work'.
He said he had offered to move out into a commercial space in Axminister that he had access to.
Days after moving out, he downloaded the dating app Bumble and started messaging two women.
He told jurors he was 'just looking for companionship, friendship'.
He told one woman, whom he had not yet met in person, about his upcoming birthday dinner with his then fiancee who he said had been the 'love of my life'.
In texts read to the court, he said: 'I'm not planning it, she is. It has the feel of a final farewell.'
He told jurors that he sent this because he 'was uncharacteristically pessimistic about the outcome' of the dinner.
Another message said 'it could go any way… the last goodbye'.
The defendant said he had been married and divorced three times and had three adult daughters.
Cartwright, 61, of no fixed address, denies raping and murdering Ms Mickleburgh between April 12 and April 14 last year.
He also denies one count of controlling and coercive behaviour between May 1 2022 and April 14 2024.
The trial continues.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Teenage boy found dead in playground after storming out of home in row
Teenage boy found dead in playground after storming out of home in row

Daily Record

timean hour ago

  • Daily Record

Teenage boy found dead in playground after storming out of home in row

Connor Lee Mark Slade, 13, was found dead in a school playground after a row over missing vodka and an aerosol. A 13-year-old boy who was found dead in a school playground had left his home following a row over missing vodka and an aerosol, an inquest has heard. ‌ Connor Lee Mark Slade was discovered unresponsive in the grounds of Melin Primary School in Mile End Row, Neath, in the early hours of January 29 this year, reports the Mirror. ‌ An inquest at Swansea heard the teenager had hoped someone would follow him after the argument at home but tragically, no one reached him in time. ‌ The court was told the schoolboy had no known history of suicidal thoughts or self harm, and regularly left home during arguments before calming down and returning. The inquest, which was held today, heard Connor's mum, Louise Morgan, describe her son as a "happy boy, one of the lads, a joker and leader of the pack". Despite his young age, Connor had already been excluded from several schools and had 100 police convictions, according to Detective Constable Siobhan Danaher. The hearing heard he was being supported by Neath Port Talbot social services. ‌ The hearing heard that Connor was receiving help from Neath Port Talbot social services. Connor, who was one of nine children, lived with his father Keiran Slade before moving back in with his mother in Neath aged 10. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. On the night before his death on January 28, Connor was out until around 9.30pm, but returned home in good spirits and was on his phone, WalesOnline reports. ‌ But a confrontation unfolded after his mum and stepdad, Jason Clark, noticed a bottle of vodka and an aerosol were missing. The teen "kicked off" and stormed out, even threatening to "jump off a bridge" before leaving again barefoot after coming back to grab his shoes. His family told police he had made similar threats before and had always come back, so they didn't take it seriously. But Jason went out to search for him and couldn't find him, assistant coroner Paul Bennett explained. ‌ In the early hours of January 29 the couple's friends David "Dai" Morrow and Amy Winslade, who were visiting at the time, left the house together just as Louise was ringing the police to report Connor missing. Moments later, Louise and Jason heard Amy shriek "Connor, Connor". Dai had seen Connor's body in the playground of nearby Melin Primary. ‌ Jason raced to Connor and attempted mouth to mouth resuscitation in the six minutes before paramedics arrived on the scene. Connor was declared dead shortly afterwards at 3.43am on January 29, DC Danaher told the hearing. Post mortem results showed minor traces of alcohol and cannabis, but these were not at fatal levels and did not contribute to his death. Assistant coroner David Bennett recorded a narrative verdict saying the circumstances did not point to Connor intending to take his life. The coroner said there wasn't anything on the teenager's phone to suggest he intended to end his life intentionally, adding: "History suggests Connor had a quick and violent temper, he found it hard to control. In my view this was not a deliberate act on Connor's part to end his own life. I am not satisfied Connor intended to end his life. Intent cannot be presumed, so I give a narrative conclusion. "We will never know, but I consider it likely that he had an altercation about missing aerosol and alcohol and Connor's temper got the better of him. Acting on impulse he went to the school and took the step he did thinking someone would come looking for him before it was fatal."

Driver who caused death of young mother who was knocked off e-bike is jailed
Driver who caused death of young mother who was knocked off e-bike is jailed

Rhyl Journal

time2 hours ago

  • Rhyl Journal

Driver who caused death of young mother who was knocked off e-bike is jailed

Keaton Muldoon, 23, was acquitted after a trial at Derby Crown Court of murdering 25-year-old Alana Armstrong and causing grievous bodily harm with intent to her boyfriend Jordan Newton-Kay, who had his right leg amputated 15cm above the knee after the crash on November 26 last year. Before the trial began, Muldoon, of Tuckers Lane in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, causing serious injury by dangerous driving and driving whilst disqualified. Muldoon, who the court heard was a drug dealer, told the jury of 11 women and one man during the trial that he 'did not know' he had hit anyone while driving his Land Rover Discovery on the evening of November 26 last year, and thought he had overtaken Mr Newton-Kay's bike at a passing point. The prosecution alleged that Muldoon 'pursued' the couple, and another electric bike ridden by a friend of Mr Newton-Kay, after they stopped near the defendant's 4×4 at a lay-by and shined their lights inside the vehicle. The defendant told the court he feared he was going to be robbed but did not 'chase' the Sur-Ron off-road bike for more than a mile from the lay-by in Sampsons Lane, Pleasley. In a victim impact statement read to the court by prosecution counsel Sally Howes KC on Friday, Mr Newton-Kay said 'nothing feels right' without his partner, adding: 'I can't see a future without her in it. 'My life has been turned upside down. I have lost my leg and the love of my life by the age of 23.' In another statement, Ms Armstrong's mother said she was a 'kind-hearted soul' who wanted the best for everyone she cared about. She said: 'I have lost my baby… As a family, we feel tormented that she has lost her life because of someone else's actions.' Defending Muldoon, Adrian Langdale KC said the defendant was 'extremely young' at the time of the incident but had written a 'mature' letter to Judge Shaun Smith KC highlighting his remorse for what happened. Judge Smith imposed a sentence of five years and three months for causing the death of Ms Armstrong, with concurrent sentences of 27 months for injuring Mr Newton-Kay and one month for driving whilst disqualified. He banned him from driving for 12 and a half years and said he must serve at least half of his sentence before he can be released on extended licence. He said he could not be sure that Muldoon's vehicle made contact with Mr Newton-Kay's bike, but he was satisfied that it was the defendant's dangerous driving that made the bike lose control. He said: 'You were irritated by what happened and decided you were going to teach them a lesson by frightening them. 'What you did was, on more than occasion, got close to one or more of the e-bikes to frighten them. 'It was not only dangerous, but carried the real risk of a collision or cause one of them to lose control, leading to potentially tragic consequences. 'I take the view that each decision you took that night was conscious and deliberate. You knew exactly what you were doing.' Despite this, the judge accepted Muldoon had not intended to cause death or injury that evening. He said: 'You didn't set out that night to injure or kill someone. You are, I accept, truly remorseful.' He added: 'There is no price of a human life, but neither can sentence be measured by revenge. 'It cannot return Alana to those who love her or return Mr Newton-Kay to full health. 'Those who know and love Alana have been utterly crushed and devastated.'

Meat that wasn't what was promised sold to restaurants across Wales
Meat that wasn't what was promised sold to restaurants across Wales

North Wales Live

time3 hours ago

  • North Wales Live

Meat that wasn't what was promised sold to restaurants across Wales

A defendant sold what he claimed was halal meat to Indian restaurants and takeaways but it wasn't. Helim Miah, 46, has been jailed for over four years after an investigation also revealed "extremely poor food hygiene conditions". Today Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard that Miah and co-defendant Noaf Rahman, 46, sold halal-labelled chicken from their wholesale food business but investigations later revealed their suppliers did not provide halal meat. The pair continued to falsely advertise and sell the chicken as halal to customers. The court heard Cardiff and the Vale Shared Regulatory Services seized 2,840 kilograms of frozen meat from Universal Foods (Wholesale) Ltd, based at Bessemer Close, Cardiff, in January, 2019, reports WalesOnline. You can sign up for all the latest court stories here An investigation revealed a string of food hygiene issues. These included very poor food hygiene practices, evidence that some poultry had been defrosted and refrozen, chicken two years past its sell-by date, no evidence of temperature records, evidence of pest activity and transportation of unmarked meat in unclean vehicles which weren't refrigerated or fit for purpose. Rahman pleaded guilty to multiple food hygiene offences but Miah pleaded not guilty and stood trial at Merthyr Crown Court in April this year. He denied any involvement in the day-to-day processing of the business but was found guilty of 10 charges including running a food business dishonestly - falsely selling non-Halal meat as Halal, mislabelling expiry dates, ignoring hygiene rules, and failing to track food origins - putting public health and trust at risk. Judge Vanessa Francis sentenced Miah, of Kilcredaun House, Cardiff, to 56 months in prison. His co-defendant, Rahman, of Eddystone Close, Cardiff, was sentenced to a 24-month suspended sentence. Cllr Norma Mackie, cabinet member responsible for Shared Regulatory Services at Cardiff Council, said: "This story will be deeply concerning to our Muslim community. Eating halal is a requirement in the Islamic religion, and to take part in such a fraud shows the complete disregard these men had for the community." She added: "The investigation revealed extremely poor food hygiene conditions that could have caused serious harm to their customers. This case raises important questions about how food suppliers are held accountable for the accuracy of their halal claims, the need for greater consumer awareness, and the importance of verifying the authenticity of halal certifications. She added: "If anyone has concerns about the traceability of the food products they are buying from a wholesaler, please contact Shared Regulatory Services on 0300 123 6696."

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store