Grandmother jailed for partner's murder

A grandmother has been jailed for life for murdering her boyfriend during a drink and drug-fuelled "petty argument", police said.

Kim Chapman, 51, killed her boyfriend Paul Delo, who was 13 years her junior, by stabbing him in the throat with a kitchen knife.

Cambridge Crown Court heard that Chapman had denied killing Mr Delo with the nine-inch blade after an argument on July 27 last year.

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Mr Delo was found lying in the front garden of the couple’s house in a pool of blood, a spokeswoman for the Crown Prosecution Service said.

When officers arrived Mr Delo was still alive but despite desperate efforts to save him he died a short time later at Peterborough District Hospital.

Chapman, of Dogsthorpe, near Peterborough in Cambridgeshire, was found guilty of murder following a three-week trial.

Judge Anthony Bate jailed Chapman for life and set a minimum term of 14 years, Cambridgeshire Police said.

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Judge Bate said a “petty argument” had led to the murder, which took place after Chapman and Mr Delo had been drinking and smoking cannabis at another couple’s home.

“The relationship between Kim Chapman and Paul Delo was a turbulent one and blighted by drink and drugs,” said Detective Inspector Dave Grierson, who led the investigation for Cambridgeshire Police.

“On July 27 last year both had been drinking and smoking cannabis and another argument erupted, this time with fatal consequences.

“I hope the conclusion of this case allows Mr Delo’s family and friends to move on.”