Found Deceased UK - Samantha Eastwood, 28, Stoke-on-Trent, 27 July 2018 *Arrest*

[Alyce]

Friend and colleague: 'Samantha was a fantastic midwife'
The final statement is from a friend and colleague at the Royal Stoke University Hospital, who describes knowing immediately when Samantha went missing that something was wrong, because it was so ‘completely out of character’.
She said of Samantha: “She was a fantastic midwife,” and adds: “I cannot believe Samantha will not be in my life any more.”


Updates: Murderer Michael Stirling to be sentenced over midwife killing

 

[Alyce]

Legal discussions are being held
Mr Hankin is now addressing the judge regarding the law and how Sterling’s sentence should be determined.


Updates: Murderer Michael Stirling to be sentenced over midwife killing

 

[Alyce]

Ben Chapman‏ @BenChapmanITV 1m1 minute ago




Prosecution say Michael Stirling’s behaviour after he’d killed Samantha was “composed and callous”. He even spoke to his wife on the phone while burying her body. The texts he sent to Samantha’s sister were “particularly cruel”.

 

[Alyce]

Dan Sales‏ @ByDanSales 1m1 minute ago




Samantha Eastwood’s former fiancé John Peake said he believes killer Michael Stirling laying wedding dress, engagement ring and birthday cards on bed was attempt to frame him

 

[Alyce]

Sitting in the dock - Stirling has been completely impassive
Stirling, who is sitting beside a custody officer in the dock, has remained still and impassive throughout the hearing so far.


Updates: Murderer Michael Stirling to be sentenced over midwife killing

 

[Alyce]

Prosecutor: 'Samantha's killing was brutal'
Mr Hankin is describing what the prosecution says are the ‘aggravating factors’ of the case, which should extend the minimum term of Stirling’s sentence. He said: “The killing was undoubtedly brutal. She was aware she was being strangled and smothered and would have been distressed when it was happening.” He added that Stirling had abused Samantha’s trust, and that of her family.

Updates: Murderer Michael Stirling to be sentenced over midwife killing

 

[Alyce]

Now it is time for Stirling's barrister to have his say
Mr Hankin has now finished his opening, and Stirling’s barrister, Charles Miskin QC, will speak on his behalf.

Stirling's barrister: 'He is haunted by what he did'
Charles Miskin QC said: “Michael Stirling killed Samantha Eastwood. It was completely out of character, but he did it. He has to face the torment until his own death. It is like a stain that will spread though all his relationships. It will make every aspect of his life. Every conversation he has. It will simply never go away. He is haunted by what he did. He did try to avoid detection and played a callous game with the emotion of others in the days following the killing, but he has always regretted it and his remorse since then is obvious to all who have seen him.”

Updates: Murderer Michael Stirling to be sentenced over midwife killing

 

[jessie]

Now it is time for Stirling's barrister to have his say
Mr Hankin has now finished his opening, and Stirling’s barrister, Charles Miskin QC, will speak on his behalf.

Stirling's barrister: 'He is haunted by what he did'
Charles Miskin QC said: “Michael Stirling killed Samantha Eastwood. It was completely out of character, but he did it. He has to face the torment until his own death. It is like a stain that will spread though all his relationships. It will make every aspect of his life. Every conversation he has. It will simply never go away. He is haunted by what he did. He did try to avoid detection and played a callous game with the emotion of others in the days following the killing, but he has always regretted it and his remorse since then is obvious to all who have seen him.”

Updates: Murderer Michael Stirling to be sentenced over midwife killing

This must be so, so hard for her family to listen to. Salt in the wound, disgusting.

 

[Alyce]

Personally, I don't think he has any remorse - just upset that he got caught.

Think it's likely the Judge will take a lunch break and do sentencing after lunch.

 

[Alyce]

Murderer Michael Stirling was bullied at school
The judge has been shown character references for Stirling. Mr Miskin said Stirling was bullied at school.
Mr Miskin said Stirling first met Samantha in 2010 and they had a ‘natural affinity’. They became close in 2014 and that close friendship developed into ‘something else’, Stirling said. Mr Miskin said: “He is not a confrontational man, nor does he argue back. He’s a man who tends to bottle things up.”

 

[Alyce]

Becky Johnson‏Verified account @BeckyJohnsonSky 23s24 seconds ago




Court hears Michael Stirling murdered midwife Samantha Eastwood by suffocating her in a “fog of anger” during a full scale row over the future of their relationship. The pair had been having an affair.

 

[Alyce]

He put his left hand on her throat. In a fog of anger, she died'
Mr Miskin said Stirling went up to Samantha’s room when he returned to her Baddeley Green home on Friday, July 27. Stirling claims her wedding dress was laid on the bed. An argument developed about their relationship.
Mr Miskin said: “This developed into a full-scale row with various things said and threats made. They concerned his family. The argumentative stakes rose. He should have stepped away from all this. Miss Eastwood was feisty and spirited and knew how to push his buttons. He pushed her and she fell onto the floor knocking her head on a table. He got down and straddled her. With his left hand he was pointing at her face as he talked to her. He was threatening. She laughed at him. She wasn’t scared of him. He put his left hand on her throat, he was still trying to scare her. She continued to shout and scream. He lost all his self-control and in a fog of anger, as a result of which, she died.”



Updates: Murderer Michael Stirling to be sentenced over midwife killing

 

[Alyce]

Murderer Michael Stirling had been 'living a double life' for so long
Stirling’s demeanour has remained the same during the time Mr Miskin has described the killing.
Mr Miskin says Stirling put the tape around Samantha’s face because ‘he didn’t want to see her like that’ and to ‘protect’ her face when he buried her. He says the duvet cover Stirling wrapped Samantha in ‘kept falling off’ so he used the second type of tape to secure it.
Mr Miskin says because Stirling had been ‘living a double life’ for so long, it was not difficult for him to keep up the pretence with her friends and family, and Stirling apologises to Samantha’s family for this.

Updates: Murderer Michael Stirling to be sentenced over midwife killing

 

[jessie]

He put his left hand on her throat. In a fog of anger, she died'
Mr Miskin said Stirling went up to Samantha’s room when he returned to her Baddeley Green home on Friday, July 27. Stirling claims her wedding dress was laid on the bed. An argument developed about their relationship.
Mr Miskin said: “This developed into a full-scale row with various things said and threats made. They concerned his family. The argumentative stakes rose. He should have stepped away from all this. Miss Eastwood was feisty and spirited and knew how to push his buttons. He pushed her and she fell onto the floor knocking her head on a table. He got down and straddled her. With his left hand he was pointing at her face as he talked to her. He was threatening. She laughed at him. She wasn’t scared of him. He put his left hand on her throat, he was still trying to scare her. She continued to shout and scream. He lost all his self-control and in a fog of anger, as a result of which, she died.”

Updates: Murderer Michael Stirling to be sentenced over midwife killing

Good grief. Is there a suggestion of victim blaming here ! There can be no excuse for what he did.

 

[Alyce]

The murder was a 'spontaneous assault’
Mr Miskin is now addressing the judge regarding the law. He says the murder was ‘a spontaneous assault’ by Stirling - a man who ‘is not prone to losing his temper’ and has no previous convictions or proclivity towards violence.


Stirling's barrister has now finished his representations
Mr Miskin says guilty pleas in murder cases are very unusual. He said: “Many unscrupulous defendants could have fought this case on a number of lines.”
That is the end of Mr Miskin’s representations.


Updates: Murderer Michael Stirling to be sentenced over midwife killing

 

[Elainera]

What is the minimum/maximum sentence he is looking at?

 

[Alyce]

Good grief. Is there a suggestion of victim blaming here !

Awful defence !

and I dont buy this about the tape, not wanting to see her like that - I agree with the Prosecution, he was not entirely sure whether or not SE was dead, so he made sure that if she wasnt, then she had no chance of recovering.

 

[Alyce]

What is the minimum/maximum sentence he is looking at?

15 years is the starting point - but should be much higher due to the aggravating factors - I think the Prosecution have definately proved pre meditation - and then there will be the preventing the body from a lawful burial and perverting course of justice aspects to consider.
Sadly, he wont get a whole of life, which means a reduction in sentence has to be considered by the Judge
this can be up to one sixth of his minimum term ( but only to a maximum of 5 years )

 

[Alyce]

Prosecutor challenges part of Stirling's story
Mr Hankin has told the judge that the prosecution does not accept Stirling’s account of why the tape was applied to Samantha’s face.
This is now being discussed by the barristers and the judge.


Updates: Murderer Michael Stirling to be sentenced over midwife killing


totally agree, nor do I

 

[Alyce]

Murderer Michael Stirling will be sentenced at 2.30pm
Mrs Justice Carr is now retiring to consider how to sentence Stirling.
Court has been adjourned until 2.30pm.

Updates: Murderer Michael Stirling to be sentenced over midwife killing