Murderer jailed for at least 16 years

SPURNED murderer Stuart Adcock was today jailed for a minimum of 16 years for killing his girlfriend after discovering she was going to leave him.

Stabbed teenager Rebecca Rice had told a former boyfriend she was going to walk out, but a row erupted which left the 18-year-old dying on the kitchen floor.

Norwich Crown Court heard Miss Rice decided to move back to live with her parents. Adcock, who today received a mandatory life sentence, found out about her plans and decided he would not let her go.

Adcock, 33, pleaded guilty on February 2 to stabbing 18-year-old Miss Rice to death at their flat in Pettistree, near Woodbridge, in August last year.

Miss Rice is said to have been stabbed around a dozen times in a frenzied attack, which left her with at least five wounds to her chest, another five to her back and one to her arm.

The body of the former pupil of Thomas Mills High School in Framlingham was discovered on August 6 last year.

Adcock had left their flat two days before he called police to tell them he thought he had killed her.

The horse-loving teenager, who was a member of Fynn Valley Riding Club, left her parents, Patrick and Anne, who live in Letheringham. Miss Rice also had two brothers Dominic and Sebastian.

Norwich Crown Court heard that Adcock was a fantasist who had claimed to have been suffering trauma after seeing bodies at the scene of the London tube bombings.

The court heard that he had worked for a firm in London helping companies that had been affected by disaster. During his time there had he claimed to have been suffering trauma from the London bombings, even though he had not been at the scene.

He lost his job due to disciplinary issues. He started work for Norwich Union in Norwich last July.

He told his boss there that he and Rebecca had been involved in a road traffic collision on August 2 and that she was in hospital and there were problems with trains so he couldn't get to work. However it later emerged there had been no accident.

Former girlfriend Allison Hartley, who he began to see in the summer of 2003 before separating at Christmas 2004, told police at one stage he scared her by driving up and down a dual carriageway doing emergency stops saying he didn't want her to leave him.

She painted a picture of a controlling partner who read her text messages and questioned her about everything she did.

It has also emerged that Miss Rice, who did not drink or use drugs, told a friend she wanted to leave Adcock. She told the friend: “I can't leave him because he'll ruin my life.” She told him Adcock did not let her out alone.

An ex-partner of Adcock's told police he used to deal cocaine.

New details also emerged of the hours leading up to Adcock's arrest and the circumstances surrounding his girlfriend's death.

Norwich Crown Court heard that on Saturday, August 5 Adcock was found asleep in a caravan in north of Hemsby in Norfolk.

A woman at the farm tried to wake him up but he didn't responding. She called police but he came out and told her he was trying to get to Hemsby and he was trying to get some petrol. She told him she would call police but he left.

On Sunday, August 6 he was seen in Hemsby and he went into a church. They were going to help him find somewhere to stay. He later phoned his mother Maisie Adcock and they spoke about bathroom fittings. She said he sounded fine

At about 1pm that day he spoke to his brother Simon, who the prosecution said has not assisted in the investigation.

During the investigation into Miss Rice's death, his mother told police that Adcock had told his brother what had happened and his brother advised him to call police.

At 1.30pm that day there was a 999 call which lasted four minutes. Adcock told police he was handing himself in because people would be looking for him.

Police then discovered Miss Rice's body in the flat they had shared.