Electrician stabbed partner 31 times in frenzied rage before blowing up their home
The man murdered his partner after she had said they should end their 10-year relationship.
An electrician who stabbed a judge’s daughter to death in a frenzied rage before blowing up their home in a gas explosion has been jailed for life. 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, causing around £400,000 of damage.
At Snaresbrook Crown Court on Tuesday, Mr Justice Constable KC sentenced George to life in prison and ordered that he serve at least 23 years in prison before becoming eligible for release. He said George had the ability to be friendly and fun, but he had “another troubling side to your character”.
“An overwhelming picture has emerged of your rage, anger, and volatility”, said the judge, adding that George had a “pronounced temper” which could be sparked by trivial matters and “perceived slights”.
Speaking about Ms Rook, the judge said a picture of her “shone brightly” through the testimonies of friends and family as a person who was “kind, attentive, funny, and altruistically motivated, and someone whose instinct was to support, to listen, and to improve the lives of others.”
He rejected George’s claim at trial that he had been provoked by Ms Rook pushing him, the judge said that would have been “completely out of character”. He said: “She feared you, she feared your wrath. In your rage and fury, you brutally stabbed Annabel to death.”
He added that even after the murder and explosion, George “remained fixated on your self-absorbed belief that Annabel had betrayed you”.
Ms Rook’s father, retired Old Bailey judge Peter Rook, branded George “utterly selfish” while her mother Susanna Rook called him “a wicked, totally narcissistic, damaged person”.
Delivering a victim impact statement in court, Mrs Rook held back tears as she hailed her daughter as “optimistic, inclusive, and full of fun”.
“We know we will never be able to come to terms with her death, and life without her is painful and hard to bear,” she said. “We do feel Clifton betrayed the trust we placed in him. We welcomed him into the family in every way we could. Bearing in mind his short fuse, particularly when in drink, we realise his inability to understand and address his own problems means he is, was, and will continue to be a dangerous man.”
Ms Rook’s sister Sophie told the court: “Without Annabel, there is less joy and less hope.”
She said her sister’s murder has left the family dealing with the “painful question of whether we could have done more to help her escape”.
George was convicted at trial of murder and he admitted arson over the gas explosion he triggered after stabbing his partner to death.
He attempted to claim loss of self-control as a partial defence to the killing, but this fell apart thanks to evidence of his short fuse, angry outbursts at Ms Rook during their relationship, and at least one incident when he had been violent towards her.
Sophie Rook described the pain of hearing George’s defence case, saying his attempts to turn the blame on her felt like her sister being attacked again.
Ms Rook was the co-founder of social enterprise MamaSuze, which helped refugee women and children through creative arts workshops.
George killed her on the night of June 16 last year at their home in Dumont Road, Stoke Newington, punching and throttling her before arming himself with a kitchen knife.
George was heard shouting “you lied” as he committed the murder, and the court heard he had flown into a rage after finding out that Ms Rook had kept a secret from him, which had been told to her in confidence.
In the aftermath of the murder, George triggered the gas explosion – likened by neighbours to an “mini earthquake” – which ripped through the property and blew off part of the roof.
Before the fatal stabbing, Ms Rook had told George that they should separate and he should move out of their home, which she owned.
But she had planned to give her partner £50,000 to find a new home, and harboured hopes that they would continue to holiday together in the future.
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