Steak knife murder: Emma-Jayne Magson jailed for life

A woman who stabbed her boyfriend in the chest with a steak knife has been jailed for life for his murder.

Emma-Jayne Magson, 23, of Sylvan Road, Leicester, killed James Knight, 26, in the early hours of 27 March following a "drunken row".

Magson, who was found guilty after a three-week trial, was sentenced at Leicester Crown Court and ordered to serve a minimum of 17 years.

Judge Nicholas Dean QC said her behaviour was "inexplicable".

The court listened to a recording of a 999 call Magson made some time after she attacked Mr Knight, saying he had collapsed but failing to mention he had been stabbed.

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When told an ambulance might be delayed, Magson said: "No, that's fine, don't worry about it."

'Why has daddy been stolen?'

James Knight, pictured with his daughters Ruby and Evie, was stabbed in the chest

The family of murdered James Knight said his two daughters question why "daddy was stolen".

A statement was read to the court on behalf of his children, four-year-old Ruby and Evie, six and their mother Becki Waite.

"The initial shock of being woken at 4am to be told the father of your children had died made me feel numb and utterly broken," it read.

"To then be informed he was murdered was heart-wrenching but to later find out it was by the woman he had left me for, the woman who had been putting our daughters to bed on a weekend, made me feel like a part of me had died at the same time.

"My five-year-old was asking 'why has Daddy been stolen?' and 'how will he know it's my birthday?"

"The impact of James's death isn't just for now, the impact isn't going to stop.

"My little girls will never have a daddy, never get to go to the park with him, he will never walk them down the aisle, this will continue to have a huge domino effect."

'She was brutal'

She later claimed she had stabbed Mr Knight in self-defence but refused to give evidence during the trial.

The judge said: "You did nothing to help James Knight. Your behaviour is inexplicable.

"You knew you had used the knife, the knife you disposed of. You carried the bloodied T-shirt into the house and there it was on the floor, close to where James remained prone, struggling by now to breathe.

"You have demonstrated no real remorse for what you did, on the contrary you have effectively blamed James Knight for what you did".

Magson refused to give evidence during her trial but the court heard that she claimed Mr Knight had been beaten up by two bouncers on a night out in the city centre.

The victim's brother Kevin Knight, who lived a few doors away, helped Magson carry the body back into her front room - without knowing about the fatal stab injury.

He was later woken by Magson banging frantically on the door screaming "It's James, it's James, he's dead, he's dead", the jury heard.

In his closing speech, prosecutor Michael Evans QC said: "(On that night) she was in drink, she was cold, she was brutal, she was manipulative, she was calculating, she was volatile, she was determined and she was vicious."