A hockey coach who brutally murdered his wife and attempted to cover it up as a suicide so he could claim her life insurance and pursue another woman has been jailed.
Mohamed Samak, 43, stabbed 49-year-old Joanne in the chest and stomach six times at their home in Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire, last July.
Neighbours were awoken in the early hours by screaming which lasted around 10 seconds, the court heard.
Samak called 999 around an hour later and told the call handler he found Joanne, who slept in a separate bedroom, slumped on the bed with a knife in her belly.
He said he had decided to check on her after waking up during the night to go to the bathroom.
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At trial he claimed he was woken up by a scream and went onto the landing to see her stabbing herself.
The killer insisted he had lied on the 999 call because he panicked and thought he’d be blamed for Joanne’s death.
But the court heard Joanne’s blood was found on clothing hidden in the loft.
He also pretended to follow instructions from the call handler to attempt CPR but police and paramedics who attended the scene saw no traces of blood on his hands.
The court heard the couple met in 2011 in Egypt and settled in Worcestershire after marrying three years later.
Their relationship lacked ‘romance’ and they were leading separate lives, the court heard.
Egyptian-born Samak, who used to play hockey for his country and was now working with the Wales under-18s team, had taken interest in a French woman he’d met in the past and had kissed her when they met up again recently.
Samak was sentenced to life with a minimum of 21 years on Friday.
Describing Joanne’s savage murder at the hands of her husband, Judge Burbidge, sentencing, told the defendant: ‘She had no chance to defend herself or ward you off.
‘The critical blow was a blow of severe force straight through her breastbone, penetrating it to its full thickness and into her heart.
‘This was the cause of her death, it would have caused great pain, as would have the removal of the knife. She would have been dead within 20 minutes.
‘You stabbed her further to the abdomen, leaving the knife in her body.
‘It may well be then that you were shocked at what you had done.
‘You had the potential chance to save her life if what you had done was a short lived aberration.
‘You were trained in CPR and you did not call the emergency services straight away, you needed to cover your criminal deed as best you could.
‘You waited and watched your wife take her last breath.’
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