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Man accused of killing ex at luxury hotel ‘waved ambulance goodbye', jury told
Man accused of killing ex at luxury hotel ‘waved ambulance goodbye', jury told

The Independent

time7 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Man accused of killing ex at luxury hotel ‘waved ambulance goodbye', jury told

A man accused of murdering his ex-fiance at a luxury hotel where they had been celebrating his birthday 'waved the ambulance goodbye' as her body was being taken away, a court has been 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. James Pettitt, guest relations manager at Pennyhill Park Hotel, told jurors on Monday he and the ambulance crew found Cartwright 'completely naked' and screaming in a 'loud and exaggerated' way when they entered the room. Ms Mickleburgh was lying on the bed face up, and had dry blood around her nose, Mr Pettitt told the court. He watched as the ambulance crew moved her from the bed to the floor, but decided not to begin CPR because it was apparent Ms Mickleburgh 'had been dead a long time', the court heard. Her body was then put in a mortuary bag and carried to the ambulance van, Mr Pettitt said. He told the court he saw Cartwright walk behind the bag, making 'noises' as though he was crying, but said he did not see any tears. 'There was lots of heavy breathing and panting. It was just very loud, very focused on himself,' Mr Pettitt told the court. 'He (Cartwright) followed us around the hotel, behind Samantha. He was just sniffling. 'It didn't appear sincere.' Cartwright then approached the back of the ambulance where Ms Mickleburgh had been placed and started 'feeling the bag', Mr Pettitt said. 'I believe he assumed where the head was,' he told jurors. 'He bent over, kissed the bag, kissed his fingers and went 'bye-bye'.' At that point, Mr Pettitt made a waving gesture to the court, prompting the prosecutor Louise Oakley to ask: 'He physically waved the ambulance goodbye?' To which Mr Pettitt replied: 'Yes – until the vehicle had left the premises.' After Ms Mickleburgh's body was taken away, Cartwright returned to the room and went through her handbag, from which he retrieved a car key and a piece of jewellery which Mr Pettit described as 'a diamond bracelet or necklace', he told jurors. On seizing the jewellery, Cartwright reportedly told Mr Pettitt: 'I'll take care of that,' the court was told. Asked whether Cartwright had offered an explanation about what happened to Ms Mickleburgh, Mr Pettitt said: 'He had mentioned that during the night, Samantha had rolled out of bed. 'She had hit her head, supposedly, on the bedside table and in turn had a nose bleed. 'He supposedly woke up to the sound of Samantha rolling out of bed and he helped her back on to the bed. 'I was informed that he pinched her nose to stop the bleeding and that no first aid was required.' Cartwright, 61, of no fixed address, is on trial accused of 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.

German doctor on trial for allegedly murdering 15 patients in his care
German doctor on trial for allegedly murdering 15 patients in his care

The Guardian

timean hour ago

  • The Guardian

German doctor on trial for allegedly murdering 15 patients in his care

Hearings have begun in the Berlin trial of a German palliative doctor accused of murdering 15 patients in his care using a deadly cocktail of sedatives and setting fire to many of their homes to cover up his crimes. Prosecutors have charged the 40-year-old defendant with '15 counts of murder with premeditated malice and other base motives', and are seeking a life sentence, which in Germany usually amounts to 15 years in prison. They aim, however, for the Berlin state court to establish 'particularly serious guilt', which would result in the doctor being detained on a preventative basis even after that sentence is up, as well as receiving a lifetime ban on practising medicine. As the trial opened on Monday, prosecutor Philipp Meyhoefer said the doctor had arranged the house calls with the intention of killing his patients 'without their knowledge or consent' using 'a deadly mix of various medications'. 'He acted with disregard for life … and behaved as the master of life and death,' Meyhoefer told the court. Two of the killings are believed to have taken place on the same day in 2024. Authorities are still investigating dozens of other suspected killings possibly committed by the defendant, identified only as Johannes M. in accordance with German privacy rules. He was arrested last August. The doctor worked for a mobile nursing service offering palliative at-home care to terminally ill patients. His alleged victims – 12 women and three men – ranged in age from 25 to 94, and died between September 2021 and July 2024. He is believed to have given his unwitting patients an anaesthetic and a muscle relaxant, incapacitating their respiratory muscles and leading them to asphyxiate within minutes. While all were gravely ill, none had been expected to die imminently. A suspicious co-worker called attention to the fact that at least five of Johannes M.'s patients had purportedly died in fires, leading authorities to open a criminal investigation. The Berlin prosecutor's office said another 70 cases potentially linked to the defendant were still being examined, including the death of his mother-in-law in Poland in early 2024. She had been suffering from cancer. The defendant declined an opportunity to address the court as his trial opened as well as a psychiatric evaluation. His alleged motive remains unclear. The trial is scheduled to run until at least late January 2026, with about 150 people expected to be called as witnesses, news agency DPA reported. Thirteen relatives of the dead patients have joined the proceedings as co-plaintiffs. The case recalls that of German nurse Niels Högel, who received a life sentence in 2019 for murdering 85 patients in his care with lethal injections between 2000 and 2005. Högel is often called postwar Germany's most prolific serial killer. The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.

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