Louise Oakley leading Dickon Reid prosecuted James Cartwright before Mr Justice Murray and a Jury at Guildford Crown Court.
James Cartwright was charged with the murder and rape of his estranged partner Samantha Mickleburgh at the Penny Hill Park Hotel and Spa.
James Cartwright claimed that Samantha Mickleburgh had fallen out of bed and banged her head.
The case involved complex expert evidence from an Osteoarticular Pathologist and a Forensic Pathologist. The evidence revealed that in addition to a fractured skull, Samantha Mickleburgh also sustained multiple fractures to her thyroid cartilage and bruising to her hyoid bone consistent with an extended period of manual strangulation. The fractures were sustained peri and postmortem. This was consistent with Samantha Mickleburgh’s heart stopping while subject to the manual compression.
James Cartwright was sentenced to life imprisonment and was ordered to serve a minimum term of 28 years. At 61 years of age, Mr Justice Murray observed that the effect of the sentence he imposed was that James Cartwright may spend the rest of his life in prison.
Louise and Dickon were instructed by CPS South East
