Jealous husband ‘stabbed wife to death as he begged forgiveness’

Steven Parker, 24, and wife Jane, 25, had been childhood sweethearts and had three children together - but a jury was told their marriage began to fall apart after he had affairs and began ignoring his young family to play computer games.

Prosecutors told how, after four years of a largely unhappy marriage, he raged at her for being a few minutes late picking him up from work and smacked her over the head - convincing her she had to dump him.

Hull Crown Court heard on Tuesday that she texted him, saying: “I will always love you but you have hurt me too much”, adding that she would never forgive him for one of his affairs, and asked him to pack his bags ready to leave their home in Scunthorpe.

Simon Waley, prosecuting, said paint factory worker Parker then scratched ‘I heart (symbol) JP’ on his chest and wrote a note begging forgiveness.

He said she then returned to the marital home to order him to leave accompanied by her sister’s husband Chris Wood - but when Parker opened a back door he asked Mr Wood to ‘hang on a minute’ while he discussed things with his wife.

Just seconds later he used an eight-inch stainless steel knife to stab her repeatedly in the dining room. Mr Waley told the jury a bloodied six-inch knife was also found by officers when they got to the scene.

The court heard Mr Wood heard her screams but could not break into the side door as Parker had locked it behind him. He eventually managed to barge down their front door and found Parker kneeling on the floor stabbing his wife’s prone body.

He managed to drag him off while he attempted resuscitation. Mr Wood heard Jane say “I’m dead” as she laid on the floor, with her husband saying “what have I done?”.

Mr Waley said the couple had met at school in 1998 when they were aged just 13.

They married in October 2006 and had three children together, two girls and a boy aged between four and eight.

But Parker had two affairs, one with one of his wife’s close friends, and she retaliated by having an illicit liaison of her own.

Jane then took a beauty and reflexology course at college and passed her driving test - but Mr Waley said her husband resented her more outgoing nature and positive future prospects.

Mr Waley said: “This was a possessive and jealous man perhaps enraged by a woman who was gaining the confidence to leave him. She confided in family that

he ignored her and the children and all he wanted to do was play on his X-Box.”

On October 26 last year, the prosecutor said Jane had been a few minutes late picking her husband up from work, which angered him so much he struck the back of her head while she was having a drink causing her to cut her lip.

The jury heard she confided in her sister Leeann Wood that she was leaving him and arranged for Leeann’s husband Chris to drive her to Parker’s workplace and drop off his belongings.

However at 2.15pm on October 27, Parker told his wife he would be coming home early due to illness so that plan was abandoned. This led Jane to text him saying: “I’m sorry Steve, I will always love you but you have hurt me too much. I have never forgiven you for (affair), so I think it’s time for us to separate, nothing you say or do will change my mind.”

Parker returned home, then at around 4pm Jane - who had been at a friend’s house with Mr Wood - also arrived.

Mr Waley said: “When the two of them got to the door, the defendant let her in, stuck his head out and said to Chris ‘just give us a minute’. Chris later said he looked weird, with his eyes glazed over, but calm.

“The door closed and then locked. Chris wasn’t unduly alarmed and went to take his mobile phone out to phone a friend, but as soon as he did that he heard screams. Once the screams started they were continuous.

“He went straight to the back door and tried to break in but he was unable to do so. He then looked through the dining room window and could see Jane on the floor. He described seeing the defendant kneeling over his wife and hacking at her with a knife.

“He dialled 999 then managed to barge through the front door. The defendant was still stabbing at Jane when he got in. He grabbed hold of the defendant and as he did so Jane was saying ‘I’m dead’.

“After a struggle Chris disarmed him and restrained him. The fight then seemed to go out of the defendant so he released him and focused his efforts on trying to resuscitate Jane. By this time the defendant was saying ‘what have I done?’.”

Jane was rushed to hospital but she had suffered massive internal bleeding after being stabbed mainly in her neck and face and was pronounced dead at 4.50pm, less than an hour after the attack began.

When police arrived at the couple’s house Parker immediately admitted attacking his wife. He admits manslaughter on the basis that he “lost control” but denies murder.

The trial continues.