Woman’s ex-lover ‘warned he would kill her’

The bodybuilding ex-boyfriend of a woman stabbed to death had warned friends and a mistress that he would kill his former partner so “no one else” could have her, an inquest was told.
Gabrielle StanleyGabrielle Stanley
Gabrielle Stanley

Gabrielle Stanley, 28, was brutally knifed on October 26 last year at the house in Scawsby, Doncaster, she had shared with steroid user Simon Hall, 36.

She sustained 30 stab wounds in the attack and died at Doncaster Royal Infirmary later that night. Hall’s body was found at the scene and a post-mortem examination revealed the cause of his death was hanging.

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An inquest at Doncaster Crown Court heard yesterday that, six weeks before the tragedy, Miss Stanley had split up with Hall because of his infidelity and his continued steroid abuse. They had been a couple for 10 years and lived together for three years.

Hall started obsessively trying to win her back and even threatened suicide, the inquest was told.

Numerous friends and Katie Wath, with whom Hall had been having an affair, noticed his behaviour change in the weeks leading up to his death. In a statement, Miss Wath said: “Simon was a very jealous man. He told me [after the split] ‘No one else can have Gabs, I’m going to kill Gabs’.”

On the night of her death, Miss Stanley had gone to visit Hall to discuss the possibility of buying his part of the mortgage on the house they had shared together. At around 10pm, neighbours on the street heard a woman screaming for help. Emergency services were called and discovered Hall dead and Miss Stanley with severe stab wounds and covered in blood.

The inquest continues.