Electrician jailed for life after murdering partner and blowing up their London home
A man has been sentenced to life behind bars for the murder of his partner and causing a gas explosion at the couple’s north London home.
The electrician stabbed the judge’s daughter to death in a frenzied knife attack, before blowing up their north London home in a gas explosion.
On Tuesday, a judge sentenced him to life with a minimum term of 23 years behind bars for Annabel Rook’s murder.
Clifton George, 45, killed his partner Annabel Rook, 46, by stabbing her 31 times during a row at their east London home after she had said they should end their 10-year relationship.
In the aftermath of the killing, George started a fire in the basement in order to cause a gas canister explosion which ripped through the house.
George denied murder at a Snaresbrook Crown Court trial, but was convicted by a jury last week and will receive a life sentence from Mr Justice Constable KC on Tuesday.
Following the verdict, Ms Rook’s father, a retired Old Bailey judge, paid tribute to his "unbelievably brave" daughter.
Sending a message to domestic abuse victims, Annabel’s father, Judge Peter Rook, described his daughter as altruistic, non-judgmental and “one of the world’s great life enhancers”.
He added that he believes she stuck with George because she wanted to help him.
In 2023, Ms Rook tearfully confided in her father about George’s short temper, saying living with him was like “walking on eggshells” and first mentioning the possibility of a break-up.
She told her close friend Catherine Milne about the relationship difficulties while insisting there had been no violence and saying: “I don’t think he would do that.”
Ms Davin said her friend had acknowledged by summer 2024 that the relationship was “abusive” and a couple of weeks before her death Ms Rook left her sister a message saying the relationship was “not tenable”.
Following the sentencing, Mr Rook and his wife Susanna told PA the nature and scale of George’s abuse was kept hidden, and they only learned the extent of their daughter’s suffering after her death when it was laid out in evidence at trial.
“He was always very careful to not show us how angry he could get,” said Mrs Rook, reflecting on the “horrible” evidence her daughter’s friends and family sat through over four weeks in court.
Mr Rook added: “There’s only one word for it: pain, great pain.”
Mrs Rook recalled her daughter, shortly before she died, being “absolutely determined” she would not leave her home if she and George broke up.
“I remember her standing in her garden, I think the last time I was round there, just saying ‘I love this place, Mum’,” she said.
She added that Ms Rook shared details of George’s troubled childhood so that they would understand his temperament better, and “she kept saying ‘Don’t worry, I’ll sort it’.
“She had this incredible confidence that things would come right, with love and support.”
Her father said his daughter “was too courageous for her own good”, and branded George “utterly selfish, totally self-absorbed”.
Mrs Rook added: “I think he’s a wicked, totally narcissistic, damaged person.”
On Tuesday, George appeared in court for the final time to be sentenced to life in prison for Ms Rook’s murder.
The family are now determined to focus on Ms Rook’s legacy of altruism and say they have seen an increase in support for MamaSuze in the wake of her death.
“Annabel’s legacy would be for every single person to look around and think, ‘what can I do to try and make the world a better place?’,” said Ms Milne.
“What can I do to try and help people?”
Deputy Editor
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
