Newport man 'killed wife with murder in his eyes'

A farmer who allegedly shot his estranged wife dead over fears of an affair had "murder in his eyes", his stepdaughter has told a court.

Andrew Hooper, 46, pulled up on the driveway of Cheryl Hooper's home before shooting her, a jury heard.

As he did so, his stepdaughter Georgia said she heard her mother say, "Oh my god, he's here". Afterwards, she told police "he looked like a psychopath".

Mr Hooper, from Newport, Shropshire, denies murder on 26 January 2018.

He is alleged to have killed 51-year-old Mrs Hooper with a shotgun in Farmers Gate, Newport, despite weeks earlier having signed over all his licensed guns to a friend after three suicide attempts, Birmingham Crown Court heard.

Jurors heard the defendant was able to follow his wife's movements after fitting a tracking device to her car.

Earlier that evening, he confronted Mrs Hooper in a pub, accusing her of being there to meet a man with whom she was allegedly having an affair.

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Her daughter told police her mother had "never cheated" on Mr Hooper, of Guild Lane, but added the couple "led separate lives".

The teenager recalled seeing Mr Hooper pull up on a drive next to their vehicle and then get out of his car with something in his hands.

She told jurors he smashed her mother's window, while she was "fumbling" with her phone to call police.

"He waited a few seconds to make my mum realise 'I've got a gun and I'm going to shoot you, I'm going to kill you'," she stated.

'Hysterical and screaming'

Giving evidence, neighbour Wayne Tranter said he was preparing to go to sleep in a bedroom overlooking the scene when he heard two cars pull up.

Mr Tranter said: "The man was holding a gun and was pointing it towards the lady in the vehicle, in the position we all commonly know as the firing position."

After hearing a gun go off Mr Tranter told the jury he looked to see Mrs Hooper's daughter "come running towards me".

He said: "She was hysterical, she was screaming, she shouted 'my mom, my mom, he shot my mom' and 'that's my mom in there'."

The trial continues.