Boyfriend, 27, who murdered his childhood sweetheart and mother of his two children in a fit of jealous rage when she returned home from a party faces life in prison
- Charlie Booth killed Lauren Howe, from Baildon near Bradford, on July 24
- The 27-year-old denied murder but admitted to manslaughter
- He will now be sentenced on Thursday and face life imprisonment
A boyfriend is facing a life sentence for the savage murder of his former childhood sweetheart and mother of his two children in a fit of jealous rage.
Charlie Booth, 27, snapped minutes after Lauren Howe, 26, spent two hours walking home from a party and he demanded to know where she had been and ‘who she was with’.
Booth lacerated his partner’s liver, almost tearing it in two, and this led to catastrophic bleeding, Leeds Crown Court heard.
They said he may have punched her, stamped on her, or even used a weapon, with a cricket bat found nearby.
Later, he then dumped her lifeless body by a wheelie bin near their home and hid their shared mobile phone at a neighbour’s house.
Charlie Booth, 27, of Albert Road in Saltaire, was found guilty of murder at Leeds Crown Court
Lauren Jade Howe, 26, from Baildon, was murdered on July 24 after coming home from a night out
The jury was told Booth and Miss Howe had become lovers while still at school but their relationship was tainted by ‘jealousy and anger’ and they could both be violent.
Lauren’s pal Stevie Clare Hodgson-Curtley, said Booth was always ringing her to see where Lauren was and ‘who she was with’.
She said Miss Howe had told her she had been pinned up against a wall by her throat by Booth, who had also thrown a concrete brick at his girlfriend while ‘intoxicated and on drugs…very violent and angry’.
The murder happened soon after on July 24 at her mum’s home in Bradford when Booth attacked her minutes after she came home from a night out.
Booth denied murder but admitted manslaughter, claiming he and Miss Howe had fought when she returned home on the morning of her death.
He said his partner kicked him and he grabbed her by the face while she had hold of the top of his head.
When she ‘lunged’ towards him, he punched her in the abdomen but denied intending to cause her serious harm.
Booth had threatened to burn Miss Lauren’s sister’s house down, harassed her family the night before, and falsely reported her to police for assault.
Booth will be sentenced on Thursday but has already been told he face life imprisonment.
The jury was told Booth and Miss Howe (pictured) had become lovers while still at school but their relationship was tainted by ‘jealousy and anger’
Forensic investigators on the scene in Baildon after the attack
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