Man who murdered young mum in Crawley car park jailed
A man who stabbed his girlfriend to death in a disused car park in an "explosion of violence" has been jailed.Jason Flore, 26, who was originally from Mauritius, stabbed 19-year-old Stephanie Marie through the heart in Crawley last August.Judge Jeremy Gold KC told him at his sentencing: "I have no doubt that you had formed the intention to kill her in that explosion of violence fuelled by anger and alcohol."Flore, a rough sleeper, denied murder, but he was jailed for life at Hove Crown Court.
In a victim impact statement Ms Marie's mother, Cathy, said she cries for her daughter every day and thinks of her all the time.The court heard how the family came to England from Mauritius for a better education when her daughter was 13.They had lived in a council house in Crawley, and Stephanie was learning English at school.
She was described as a happy child who enjoyed sport and aspired to be a hairdresser. But at 14, she met Flore, who was then 21, and fell under his influence, the court heard.By 17, she was pregnant with his child.In August 2024, Stephanie was living in a tent with Flore in a disused car park.
On 17 August, the couple attended a barbecue, where they had drunk a substantial amount of alcohol, the court heard.Early the following morning, commuters noticed the couple behaving aggressively towards each other.Flore used a knife to stab his girlfriend in the chest, puncturing her heart and aorta, the largest artery in the body.Judge Gold KC said Flore initially claimed Stephanie had stabbed herself before he then tried to shift the blame onto others despite "overwhelming evidence" of his own guilt.Flore refused to appear for sentencing.
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North Wales Chronicle
an hour ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Teenager who died in ‘hit and run' had just arrived in UK ‘for a better future'
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Leader Live
2 hours ago
- Leader Live
Teenager who died in ‘hit and run' had just arrived in UK ‘for a better future'
Abdullah Yaser Abdullah Al Yazidi was walking along Staniforth Road, in the Darnall area of Sheffield, on Wednesday afternoon when he was hit by an Audi car which appeared to be driving on the wrong side of the road at three electric bikes. The car also hit one of the bikes, leaving an 18-year-old man with serious injuries, before leaving the scene. Police are continuing to question a 20-year-old man on suspicion of murder and attempted murder after he was arrested in Kent on Thursday. On Friday, South Yorkshire Police said a second man, aged 26, who had been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender has now been re-arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. Relatives and friends of Abdullah said he was devoted to his family and would 'light up their faces with a big smile'. He arrived in the UK from Yemen two or three months ago, and had devoted himself to learning English ahead of starting at college in September. Abdullah's relative Saleh Alsirkal runs the corner shop on Staniforth Road which the teenager visited just before the crash. He said he had had a hospital appointment earlier in the afternoon and popped into the store, as he often did, before heading off to find some food. Mr Alsirkal said: 'His dad brought him over to change his life, to get a better future for his son, but this has happened and destroyed everything. 'God bless him. He's is in a better place than this place. Good has chosen him.' He said: 'I want to thank everybody for their support. Everyone has come together and this has helped the family.' Mr Alsirkal said Abdullah was a 'kind boy' who just wanted to look after his family, including his three sisters. He said he was really enjoying learning English. 'Every time he had a new word to learn he was so excited about it,' he said. 'It meant a lot to him and he learned quick. Sometimes he would stay in the shop just so he could talk to people. He tried to be friends with everyone.' He said: 'He wanted to be the main guy for the family. He was 16-years-old but he was a clever man. I would call him a man.' Abdullah's friend Oasmah Thabet said: 'What I can tell you for certain about him is that he really cared for his family. 'You can really tell the character of somebody by the support they give to their family. 'It just shows the gratitude he had, and he spread that gratitude to the people around that community. 'To the people who would come around and just say hello to him, he would light up their faces with a big smile.' Mr Thabet said: 'He was here for a few months and was starting the learn English as well. 'I'd like to think that we related in the sense that both our families migrated from Yemen to here. 'The reason our family came here was for a better life – to live the dream. 'For something to happen like this and for your dreams to be cut so short, it's a tragic loss for the family and it's a just a shock that can't be described.' He said that every family in the area was thinking 'what if it's my kid next'. 'That's something that no parent should ever feel,' he said. Detectives have said they believe a grey Audi drove towards three electric bikes, colliding with one rider, who suffered serious injuries which are not thought to be life-threatening, before hitting Abdullah. Detective Chief Inspector Benjamin Wood said: 'This is a heartbreaking case in which a completely innocent boy has lost his life. 'Our thoughts remain with Abdullah's family and our priority is securing justice for them. 'A murder investigation has been launched and we have a team of detectives working around the clock. 'I am renewing our message to not share footage of this incident which may cause further distress to Abdullah's loved ones.' Mr Wood asked for anyone with footage or information to contact officers and said he was keen to hear from the riders of two electric bikes who were in the area at the time. Two people, a man, aged 46, and a woman, aged 45, arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender have both been bailed pending further inquiries, police said.
Scottish Sun
2 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Terrifying message sent by ‘Chinese hackers' to M&S boss after crippling cyber attack on British retailer is revealed
The blackmail message is believed to have included a racist term RANSOM DEMAND Terrifying message sent by 'Chinese hackers' to M&S boss after crippling cyber attack on British retailer is revealed Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) 'CHINESE hackers' allegedly sent a terrifying message to the boss of Marks & Spencer following a crippling cyber-attack on the British retailer. Fraudsters, believed to be from the hacking group DragonForce, are said to have emailed the company's chief executive Stuart Machin and seven other key executives. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 High street retailer Marks & Spencer was hit by a cyber attack over the Easter holiday Credit: Alamy 2 M&S boss Stuart Machin, pictured, along with seven other company executives were emailed by the hackers, believed to be DragonForce Credit: PA The message, written in broken English, was sent on April 23, indicated that M&S was hacked by the ransomware group, although the retailer has not acknowledged this. 'We have marched the ways from China all the way to the UK and have mercilessly raped your company and encrypted all the servers,' the hackers wrote, according to the BBC. 'The dragon wants to speak to you so please head over to [our darknet website].' The link to the darknet shared in the email led to a portal for victims of DragonForce to negotiate a ransom fee. The hackers added: 'Let's get the party started. Message us, we will make this fast and easy for us.' DragonForce's attack during the Easter holiday has been hugely damaging for one of Britain's best-known retailer and is thought to have cost the firm an estimated £300million. After six weeks on from the attack, the retailer is still unable to process online orders. The email was sent to Mr Machin along with seven other top executives, according to the corporation. A racist term is also said to have been included in the blackmail message and also ended with an image of a fire-breathing dragon. Along with installing ransomware in order to cripple M&S's IT system the hackers are also believed to have stolen private data from millions of customers. The £3.50 M&S buy that'll make your whole house smell like a 'boujee candle' Three weeks on from the attack, M&S informed customers that contact details and dates of birth from some shoppers had been obtained by a suspected cyber cartel. M&S also admitted other personal details, including customers' order histories, had also been pilfered by online criminals. Bosses though have stressed that no data relating to shoppers' payment, card details or account passwords had been obtained. It is unclear how many customers have been affected by the data breach. According to the company's full-year results, it had 9.4million active online customers in the year up to March 30. The email apparently sent by DragonForce is thought to have bene sent using the account of an employee from IT company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which has provided IT services to the retailer for more than a decade. The Indian IT worker, who is based in London, had an M&S email address but is paid employee of TCS. Timeline of the attack Saturday, April 19: Initial reports emerge on social media of problems with contactless payments and click-and-collect services at M&S stores across the UK. Customers experience difficulties collecting online purchases and returning items due to system issues. Initial reports emerge on social media of problems with contactless payments and click-and-collect services at M&S stores across the UK. Customers experience difficulties collecting online purchases and returning items due to system issues. Monday, April 21: Problems with contactless payments and click-and-collect persist. M&S officially acknowledges the "cyber incident" in a statement to the London Stock Exchange. CEO Stuart Machin apologises for the disruption and confirms "minor, temporary changes" to store operations. M&S notifies the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and engages external cybersecurity experts. Problems with contactless payments and click-and-collect persist. M&S officially acknowledges the "cyber incident" in a statement to the London Stock Exchange. CEO Stuart Machin apologises for the disruption and confirms "minor, temporary changes" to store operations. M&S notifies the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and engages external cybersecurity experts. Tuesday, April 22: Disruptions continue. M&S takes further systems offline as part of "proactive management". Disruptions continue. M&S takes further systems offline as part of "proactive management". Wednesday, April 23: Despite earlier claims of customer-facing systems returning to normal, M&S continues to adjust operations to maintain security. Contactless payments are initially restored, but other services, including click-and-collect, remain affected. Despite earlier claims of customer-facing systems returning to normal, M&S continues to adjust operations to maintain security. Contactless payments are initially restored, but other services, including click-and-collect, remain affected. Thursday, April 24: Contactless payments and click-and-collect services are still unavailable. Reports surface suggesting the attackers possibly gained access to data in February. Contactless payments and click-and-collect services are still unavailable. Reports surface suggesting the attackers possibly gained access to data in February. Friday, April 25: M&S suspends all online and app orders in the UK and Ireland for clothing and food, although customers can still browse products. This decision leads to a 5% drop in M&S's share price. M&S suspends all online and app orders in the UK and Ireland for clothing and food, although customers can still browse products. This decision leads to a 5% drop in M&S's share price. Monday, April 28: M&S is still unable to process online orders. Around 200 agency workers at the main distribution centre are told to stay home. M&S is still unable to process online orders. Around 200 agency workers at the main distribution centre are told to stay home. Tuesday, April 29: Information suggests that the hacker group Scattered Spider is likely behind the attack. Shoppers spot empty shelves in selected stores. Information suggests that the hacker group Scattered Spider is likely behind the attack. Shoppers spot empty shelves in selected stores. Tuesday, May 13: M&S revealed that some customer information has been stolen. M&S revealed that some customer information has been stolen. Wednesday, May 21: The retailer said disruption from the attack is expected to continue through to July. The retailer said disruption from the attack is expected to continue through to July. It's thought the worker was among the victims hacked. The company had previously said it is investigating if it was a gateway for the cyber attack. It has since informed the BBC the email was not sent from its system and had nothing to do with the security breach. M&S has declined to comment on the latest revelations. A spokesperson for the company told The Sun Online: 'We cannot comment on details of or speculation on the cyber incident, and we have been advised not to.'
