Ex-DJ imprisoned for life for murdering partner’s mother in drunken knife attack

A lorry driver and ex-DJ who stabbed his partner's mother to death in a drunken attack after she tried to help her daughter has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 20 years.

Damian Homer, 51, also stabbed his partner, Stacey Hill, 38, who tried to shield her mother, Wendy Francis, from the kitchen knife he wielded after an argument.

Homer, who previously pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder, stabbed Francis, 61, twice in the chest after she used a key to let herself into her daughter's home after being alerted that he had armed himself and was being violent.

Prosecutor Harpreet Sandhu KC said Francis saw her daughter screaming and being attacked in the kitchen when she arrived at the property in Worcester on 2 March.

Sandhu told the court that Francis told Homer to "Get off my daughter", before he beat both women repeatedly and then stabbed Francis.

"Stacey Hill then got on top of her mother so that any further blows with the knife would be delivered to her rather than her mother," Sandhu said.

Francis suffered stab wounds which passed through her left lung and liver, went into cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead at 9.18pm.

Hill suffered wounds to her hand, thigh, chest and abdomen, and pleaded with paramedics to assist her mother before they helped her, Sandhu added. She spent 10 days in hospital, three of them in intensive care.

Homer sat with his head bowed and frequently sobbed in the dock as family members, including Francis's son, described the killing as "evil" in victim impact statements read to the court.

Homer, who lived with Hill at the address, initially claimed he had been acting in self-defence, but wrote a letter to his partner while in custody saying "alcohol possessed me" and that he had very little recollection of the attacks.

He claimed he consumed eight cans of cider and further drinks, including part of a bottle of wine, on the day of the murder.

Defence KC Tim Hannam said Homer was "devastated and mortified" by his actions and had "destroyed the lives of everyone in his family". Homer had began to drink to excess in 1998 after losing his job and suffering back problems, the court heard.

Passing sentence, Judge Rupert Mayo described the murder as a "senseless killing".

"It would not be an exaggeration to say that both women were fighting for their lives," he said.

In a statement issued through West Mercia police, Francis's family said: "She welcomed Damian Homer into the family with open arms, showing nothing but love, support and loyalty towards him, which makes all of this so much harder to comprehend.

"We will never come to terms with why this happened, but what we do know is she will be loved and missed forever. The void she has left in the lives of her family and friends is one that will never be filled."

Retired DCI Leighton Harding, who led the investigation, commended Hill for giving evidence in the case. "Despite the unimaginable trauma she faced, the bravery she has shown has been inspiring and without doubt the evidence she was able to provide was instrumental in securing the conviction of Homer and today's sentence," he said.