Cheating husband 'carved childhood sweetheart's initials into his chest and stabbed her to death after she said she was leaving him'

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Updated: 11:19 EST, 4 May 2011

• Husband allegedly said, 'What have I done?' straight after killing
• Wife had arrived home to dump partner minutes before attack
  

A possessive and jealous husband brutally stabbed his wife to death after carving her initials on his chest when she said she was leaving him, a court heard.

Steven Parker, 24, and wife Jane, 25, were childhood sweethearts and had three children together - but their marriage allegedly fell apart after he had affairs and began ignoring his young family to play computer games.

A murder jury were told how, after four years of a largely unhappy marriage, Mrs Parker returned to the couple's home in Scunthorpe, Lincs, to kick her husband out - only for him to savagely stab her to death with an eight-inch kitchen knife.

Happier times: Steven and Jane Parker, pictured on their wedding day in October 2006

Hull Crown Court heard yesterday that Mr Parker had previously raged at his wife for arriving a few minutes late to collect him from work.

He reacted by clubbing her over the head and cutting her lip, convincing Mrs Parker she had to leave her husband.

She later sent him a text 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.

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

Mrs Parker then returned home to confirm the split with her husband, leading to the fatal attack in the couple's dining room last October.

Savage: The alleged attack by Mr Parker on his wife happened shortly after she sent him a text saying they should separate

The court Mrs Parker had been accompanied by her sister's husband Chris Wood when she arrived at her family home.

It is alleged that Mr Parker opened a back door and calmly told 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 Mr 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 Mr Parker had two affairs, one with one of his wife's close friends, while his partner is also said to have had an illicit liaison of her own.

Mrs Parker then took a college beauty and reflexology course and passed her driving test - but the court heard Mr Parker resented his wife's more outgoing nature and 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 Mrs Parker 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.

Scene: Mr Parker's 'frenzied' attack on his wife took place in the dining room of the couple's home in Scunthorpe

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 Mr 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 Mrs Parker 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.'

Mr Parker returned home, then at around 4pm his wife - 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.

Tributes: Flowers are left at the scene of the attack, which took place at the Parkers' marital home last October

'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 dialed 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?'.'

Mrs Parker 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.

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