Newport woman Cheryl Hooper 'felt threatened' by husband

Andrew Hooper is on trial at Birmingham Crown Court

A woman allegedly shot dead by her estranged husband outside her home "felt threatened" by him, her lover told a court.

Cheryl Hooper began an affair with Ian Preece shortly before she was murdered by her estranged husband Andrew Hooper in Newport, Shropshire, in January 2018, Birmingham Crown Court heard.

Mrs Hooper had confided in him about her husband's drinking and threatening, aggressive behaviour, the jury heard.

Mr Hooper, 46, denies murder.

Mrs Hooper, a dental practice manager, had told Mr Preece about a time the defendant had damaged a television and "cracked" open the barrels of his shotgun, the court heard.

The pair had been drinking in a pub in Tettenhall, Wolverhampton, with mutual friends on the night Mrs Hooper was killed.

The defendant arrived and "came straight to Cheryl", confronting her about the affair, Mr Preece said.

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On Wednesday, jurors heard how Mr Hooper attached a tracking device to his wife's car and followed her to the home she rented after moving out of their shared house at Guild of Monks Farm, near Newport.

Mrs Hooper was shot in her car in front of her 14-year-old daughter and died at about midnight on 26 January 2018, the jury was told.

The court also heard from emergency services personnel who were called to the defendant's home after Mrs Hooper's death where it was "very apparent that the man had attempted to take his own life".

Sgt Michael Watersworth, from West Mercia Police, said Mr Hooper "left a suicide note and his will" and had "part of his face missing" after turning the shotgun on himself.

The trial continues.

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