Judge's daughter stabbed to death by angry partner, court told

A judge's daughter was allegedly stabbed to death by her "angry" partner who then triggered a gas explosion while trying to blow up their home in north London, a court has heard.

Clifton George, 45, is accused of murdering Annabel Rook, 46, during an argument at their home in Stoke Newington on 17 June last year.

George has admitted responsibility for her death by pleading guilty to manslaughter, but denies murdering Ms Rook, who was the daughter of retired Old Bailey judge Peter Rook.

It is said George took a knife from the kitchen into the living room to stab Ms Rook.

He then started a fire in the property, setting a gas canister alight and triggering "an enormous explosion", the court was told.

Opening the case at Snaresbrook Crown Court, London, on Wednesday, prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC said the stabbing happened amid the couple's crumbling relationship, and after Ms Rook had told George to leave their home.

Mr Emlyn Jones told the court: "On the night of June 16 and 17 last year, the defendant argued with his partner Annabel Rook.

"In the course of that argument he punched her, he then tried to strangle her, and then he went to the kitchen to get a knife, he came back with the knife and he stabbed her to death.

"He lost his temper, and in his rage… he murdered Annabel."

Mr Emlyn Jones said Ms Rook had been stabbed 22 times, including through the heart, when her body was discovered after the explosion.

George "was found in the back garden, bleeding heavily and trying to stab himself with a shard of broken glass".

The prosecutor said: "He was asked if there was anyone inside the house, and he said 'my wife' - but, he added, she was dead.

"When asked how he knew she was dead, he replied 'because I killed her'."

In police interview, George said he "lost it" when he found out Ms Rook had "lied to me".

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The court heard the couple never married but had been living together for just over a decade.

The prosecutor said George's guilty plea to manslaughter has not been accepted, and he continues to be accused of murder.

He said jurors will have to determine the reason for the fatal stabbing, including an assessment of their relationship, which was "difficult at times".

The trial continues.

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