Electrician guilty of murdering partner and blowing up their London home

Clifton George convicted of fatally stabbing charity worker Annabel Rook after she tried to end relationship A man who fatally stabbed his partner and then set off a gas explosion at their north-east London home last summer has been found guilty of her murder. Clifton George, 45, had denied murdering Annabel Rook, a 46-year-old charity founder, during an argument at their home in Stoke Newington on 17 June 2025. He admitted manslaughter, claiming he had lost self-control when he punched, throttled and ultimately stabbed Rook, but denied the murder charge. But on Wednesday, at the end of a four-week trial, the jury at Snaresbrook crown court convicted George of murder. The trial concluded that George’s defence could not be relied on thanks to “overwhelming” evidence of his short temper and a pattern of abuse towards Rook, according to the prosecutor, William Emlyn Jones KC. The court heard how George had punched and tried to strangle Rook during an argument. He then repeatedly stabbed her with a kitchen knife, the prosecution said. “He lost his temper, and in his rage … he murdered Annabel,” Jones told the court. The court was told that George was an aggressive and bullying partner