Oldham murder: Man jailed for killing ex-wife over house sale

A man who murdered his ex-wife after being told he would have to move out of the family home has been jailed.

Stephen Booth attacked Susan Booth, 62, with an axe after finding out the sale of the couple's home in Tameside would be completed within days.

Booth, who had been living at the home following their separation, told police he would have had nowhere else to live.

The 64-year-old was jailed at Manchester Crown Court for life with a minimum of 22 and a half years.

Investigators pieced together how Booth had decided to kill his ex-wife after receiving a call from his solicitor on 4 May, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said.

The force said, during the call, he had been informed that the sale of the family home would be completed in a matter of days for more than £450,000.

Booth, who worked as a builder and had built the property, then travelled to Hillside Avenue in Shaw where Mrs Booth had moved to following their separation in 2017.

When she arrived home from her shift as a healthcare assistant at Royal Oldham Hospital, Booth struck her from behind repeatedly with an axe.

Booth, of Churchfields in Audenshaw, called police to report the murder and left the scene before calling back to confess to killing his ex-wife.

When later questioned by police, he said he had not seen her for two years before the attack but in court he pleaded guilty to her murder.

Duncan Thorpe, senior investigating officer at GMP, said it had been "a complex and saddening case".

"This was a tragic event where a family has lost a cherished mother and grandmother," he added.

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