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Daily Record
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Ellis Whitehouse & Jon Brady

Pregnant mum stabbed 'possessive' boyfriend in New Year's Day bloodbath in front of six kids

A mother who stabbed her "possessive" boyfriend in front of six small children screamed "f**k him, I don't give a f**k" after being found guilty of murder.

Hannah Sindrey, 24, was jailed for life on Friday for killing Paul Fletcher, 31, on New Year's Day last year.

She must serve a minimum of 14-and-a-half years behind bars, Essex Live reports, after she picked up a kitchen knife and stabbed her partner through the heart following a row.

The mum tried to pin the murder on her pal Kelly Blackwell, but the 26-year-old was found not guilty at the trial.

Being dragged screaming out of the dock at Basildon Crown Court as she was found guilty on Thursday, Sindrey yelled: "F**k him. That's what I think. F**k him.... I don't give a f**k," as she was taken down.

Sindrey stabbed Fletcher after a New Year's Day row (PA/Reach)

Sindrey, of Rayleigh, Essex, fatally stabbed Mr Fletcher at her flat during an argument.

The trial had heard Mr Fletcher and Sindrey had been arguing throughout the night, with Mr Fletcher, who had taken cocaine, paranoid over his incorrect fears of Sindrey's cheating.

The row led to him confiscating both Sindrey and Blackwell's phones, which enraged the pair.

The argument progressed, all while Sindrey's two children and Blackwell's four children were in the flat in a "hysterical" state. It led to a knife being produced and reportedly being waved around.

A fight broke out, which Judge Samantha Leigh ruled was started by Ms Blackwell, leading Sindrey to pick up a kitchen knife and stab Mr Fletcher, 31, through the heart.

Mr Fletcher collapsed on the floor in the hallway. The emergency services were called but he died at the home despite the best efforts of the paramedics, being pronounced dead at around 1am on January 1 last year.

Witnesses reporting seeing Sindrey screaming for help on the flat balcony with his blood on her hands, saying "he's been stabbed".

The trial saw bodycam footage from police officers attending, and also showed the two women in an extremely distressed state as they were checked into police custody.

The trial heard the pair had been arguing all evening (Facebook)

The court previously heard from both Sindrey and Blackwell, with Blackwell claiming she heard Sindrey yell "you knew I would do it" after stabbing Mr Fletcher as she waved the knife around in the kitchen.

Sindrey was convicted of murder by majority verdict at the same court on Thursday, while Miss Blackwell, 26, was acquitted.

Sindrey and Blackwell - of Retort Close, Southend - had both denied being responsible and blamed each other for the killing of the 31-year-old.

Police said that Mr Fletcher, known as Dod, was stabbed in the chest in the fracas that broke out.

Judge Samantha Leigh acknowledged that the relationship between Sindrey and Mr Fletcher had been "toxic", and that he had been "possessive" - including making threats to her when he was still in prison.

The judge said Mr Fletcher had suffered a 10cm wound from the stabbing which had pierced his heart.

She told Sindrey: "Paul Fletcher took Kelly Blackwell's phone, she didn't take kindly to this and I am satisfied that she started the attack and she picked up the knife first.

"She becomes very verbally aggressive and slapping the deceased and you then became involved.

She stabbed her boyfriend after he confiscated her phone over fears she was cheating (Reach Plc)

"I am sure you had had enough of the behaviour at that stage and you lost your temper and you stabbed him once.

"In my view from your actions up until when you started giving evidence you had convinced yourself that you had not stabbed him because you couldn't face what you had done because even though the relationship was a bad one, you still loved him.

"No matter what Mr Fletcher's faults were, he was a dad, he was a son and valued member of that family, and his loss was very difficult to take.

"His son born after his death will never know his parent."

Sindrey had been pregnant with Mr Fletcher's child at the time of the incident and the court heard today that she gave birth to the child while remanded in custody.

David Spens, mitigating for Sindrey, said that she had not intended to murder Mr Fletcher and that she also suffers from a "lack of maturity" and unstable personality disorder, and possibly post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as he claimed she had suffered some abuse as a child.

Devastating victim impact statements were read out in court by family members of Mr Fletcher as his killer was sentenced today.

Shelley Thomas, Mr Fletcher's sister, had her statement read to the court by Christine Agnew QC, prosecuting.

She said: "We are devastated and heartbroken, and struggling at the loss. We are all trying to come to terms with it.

"He was trying to turn his life around and had so much to look forward to. He seemed different this time.

"He was going to be a father again, a hands-on dad and build an unconditional bond like he had with his own father.

"Dod was a big part of our life. His mum has had her whole world crashing down around her, she's in pieces. Dod was her youngest son."

In another statement, Mr Fletcher's son, from a previous relationship, said: "My dad was amazing, he was like my best friend.

"But I'm never going to have that again."

Sindrey was given a life sentence with 14-and-a-half years in jail for murder, reduced to 13 years and 164 days to account for time already spent on remand.

Judge Leigh also praised the handling of the case by Essex Police, describing the work undertaken by the officer in charge as "exceptional".

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