Hockey coach who stabbed wife to death jailed for at least 21 years

A hockey coach who stabbed his interior designer wife six times and claimed she had taken her own life has been jailed for at least 21 years for her murder.

Mohamed Samak, 43, told a jury his wife Joanne Samak, 49, had stabbed herself in the chest and stomach after he woke up at around 3am on July 1 last year at their home in Chestnut Spinney, Droitwich Spa, but was found guilty of murder on Wednesday after a retrial.

Prosecutors said Samak, a former Egyptian international hockey player and coach who worked with the Wales under-18s team, killed his wife because he was suffering financial problems and had become interested in another woman.

The defendant told the trial his wife took her own life and was struggling with alcohol and mental health problems, although friends and family said they had no concerns about her drinking or her mental state, and that she had things to look forward to.

Jailing him for life on Friday, Judge James Burbidge KC said Samak’s actions were “wicked beyond comprehension” and he had destroyed the lives of Joanne’s family.

He said: “The emotion you disclose is either feigned or emotion based on self-pity. I cannot accept you are remorseful because you still deny responsibility and put Jo’s loved ones through the trauma of two trials.

“You sought to besmirch her name by saying she drunk to excess and was not in control of her mental faculties. Nothing could have been further from the truth.

“The trial heard she always was a woman who held everything together.”

Wiping away tears, Joanne’s mother Penny Vale told the court her family and friends will “never get over” the loss of the “irreplaceable” interior designer, who was looking forward to starting a new job and celebrating her 50th birthday.

She said: “She had everything to live for.

“As her mum, I am utterly heartbroken and not a day goes by where I don’t think of Jo and cry.

“She was my baby. I watched her grow into a beautiful, confident, caring adult.

“We have had to listen to false allegations about her character and lifestyle.

“The truth is very different to the story that has been told.

“She was a hardworking and devoted mother.”

Joanne’s brother Mark Vale told the court his sister’s death was “unexpected, sudden, violent and immeasurably cruel”.

He said: “I miss her so much and a part of me died on that day as well.

“For this to happen in the home she loved and felt safe in is unthinkable.

“The horror of what she went through haunts me every day. I wish I could have helped her. I feel like I let her down.

“She must have been terrified and in agonising pain. Since Jo’s death every day has been a nightmare.”

The trial heard the couple met in 2011 when Joanne stayed at the hotel in Taba, Egypt, where Samak worked in entertainment and would make regular trips to see each other before they married in 2014 and settled together in Worcestershire.

The pair had suffered issues in their 10-year marriage and slept in separate bedrooms, with Samak claiming he missed the “romance” in their relationship and that the pair were leading almost separate lives.

Samak had admitted he had rekindled contact with a woman from France who he had met in 2009 and the pair had met up in London and had kissed, although he had not told his wife.

Joanne had also confided in a friend that she did not love her husband and wished she could divorce him.

Describing the events of the night Joanne died, Samak told the jury he was woken up by a scream from his wife and went out on to the landing at their home to see her in the corner stabbing herself.

But when he called the emergency services at 4.10am, more than an hour after neighbours say they heard a 10-second scream, he told the call handler he had gone to the bathroom and decided to check on his wife, who slept in a separate bedroom, and found her slumped on the bed with a knife in her stomach.

He told the trial he had lied at first because he panicked and feared he would be blamed for her injuries.

Samak said he was in shock and crying on the floor after the incident and when he finally called 999, the call handler told him to start CPR but he admitted he did not, despite being trained in the procedure and having a first aid kit in his bedroom.

The court heard Joanne’s blood was also found on clothing Samak had hidden in the loft.

Defending Samak, John Jones KC said he was a man of good character who had lost control and if there was an intention to kill, it was only momentary.

In his sentencing remarks, Judge Burbidge said: “Even if your intention was momentarily formed and swiftly regretted, I find there was an intention to kill.”

He added: “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.”

The judge said Samak had the presence of mind to reinforce his “frankly wicked” story that Joanne had taken her own life by hiding bloodstained clothing in the loft – items which were only found by police during his second trial.

He said: “You had the opportunity when the bloodied clothes were found during the course of this second trial to know that more lies were hopeless and do the just thing by pleading guilty, but you did not.”

He added: “When Jo drew away from you, falling out of love with you, that was something you couldn’t emotionally cope with.

“With her being the main breadwinner, you couldn’t emotionally cope with that.

“Perhaps she had told you she did not love you. She would not have left you and that you well knew.

“You became blinded by your needs and own self-worth, not supported by your wife by your own perception. You have destroyed a family.”

The judge ordered Samak to serve a minimum of 21 years in prison, less the 483 days he has already served on remand, before a parole board will consider him for release.