A murder trial has opened at Snaresbrook Crown Court in London in which a 45-year-old man is accused of stabbing his partner to death during an argument at their north London home and then triggering a gas explosion in an apparent attempt to destroy the property. The victim, Annabel Rook, 46, was the daughter of Peter Rook, a retired judge who served at the Old Bailey. The defendant Clifton George has admitted he was responsible for her death by pleading guilty to manslaughter but denies that the killing constituted murder. The prosecution has not accepted that plea and the trial is proceeding on the charge of murder.
Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC told the court that on the night of June 16 and 17 last year, George argued with Rook at their home in Stoke Newington. During the argument, he punched her and attempted to strangle her before going to the kitchen, taking a knife, and returning to stab her to death. Emlyn Jones told the jury that George lost his temper and, in his rage, murdered Annabel. She was stabbed 22 times, including through the heart, as reported by Sky News.
