A man who was found guilty of raping and murdering his ex-fiancee at a five-star luxury hotel has been jailed for at least 28 years.
James Cartwright, 61, was unanimously convicted by a jury at Guildford Crown Court last month of killing Samantha Mickleburgh.
Samantha, 54, was found dead in a twin room at the exclusive Pennyhill Park Hotel in Bagshot, Surrey, on the morning of April 14 last year.
Jurors were told she had agreed to meet Cartwright for dinner on his birthday and stay in his room because she ‘didn’t want him to feel lonely’.
He phoned 999 at around 8.30am the next morning claiming he had discovered her dead beside him in bed.
Sentencing Cartwright today, Mr Justice Murray told him: ‘Collectively (Ms Mickleburgh’s family) described Samantha’s wonderful qualities as a daughter, as a mother and as a sister – caring, thoughtful, fun, well-organised, generous to a fault and devoted to her family.
‘Samantha’s family suffer a grief that those who have not experienced it cannot imagine. It lies beyond words to fully describe.’
On July 31, Cartwright was found guilty of murder and rape, but the jury acquitted him of controlling or coercive behaviour.
During the trial, jurors were told that Cartwright had lent Ms Mickleburgh tens of thousands of pounds to help renovate a property she had bought in early 2023.
He claimed she owed him around £100,000 at the time of her death.
The pair lived together and got engaged later that year, with Cartwright proposing on a beach during a holiday.
He told the court the proposal was met with ‘an immediate and emphatic yes’ and described their relationship at the time as ‘extremely amicable and friendly and loving’.
But the relationship began to break down when Cartwright discovered ‘highly sexual’ messages from Ms Mickleburgh’s former partner on her phone and later on her laptop.
On October 2, he confronted her and admitted standing in front of her car to stop her leaving their home following an argument.
‘She got into her car. It was clear that she was going to drive away,’ he told the court.
‘I pulled (the gate) to prevent the car from leaving.
‘She chose to drive through the gate and onto the road, so I had to put myself in front of the car to stop her leaving, because the gate hadn’t worked.’
Cartwright said he was embarrassed by his behaviour and later apologised.
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