00:03For murder, the sentence I am required by law to pass, is one of life imprisonment.
00:15Stand up, Clifton George.
00:21For the murder of Annabel Rook, the sentence I am required to pass is one of life imprisonment.
00:30The minimum time you are to serve before you are eligible to apply for parole, to be released
00:37on license is 23 years.
00:40If you are released, you will remain liable indefinitely to be recalled to serve the remainder
00:46of your sentence, that is, until the end of your life, should you breach any of the conditions
00:52of your license.
00:53Miss Rook's father, retired Old Bailey judge Peter Rook, branded George utterly selfish,
01:00while her mother Susanna Rook called him a wicked, totally narcissistic, damaged person.
01:07Delivering a victim impact statement in court, Mrs Rook held back tears as she hailed her daughter
01:13as optimistic, inclusive and full of fun.
01:16George was convicted at trial of murder, and he admitted arson over the gas explosion he
01:22triggered after stabbing his partner to death.
01:25At one point, you stopped strangling Annabel.
01:29You made the deliberate choice to retrieve a weapon.
01:34You went to the kitchen and returned with a knife.
01:38It is a grim fact that, given your love of cooking, this had been a thoughtful present from Annabel
01:45a few years previously.
01:49You returned, and in your rage and fury, brutally stabbed Annabel to death.
01:56There were a total of 22 stab wounds to her body.
02:01There were a further nine defensive stab wounds to her arms.
02:08You say that in the hours that followed, you made various unsuccessful attempts at killing
02:14yourself.
02:15You took a knife to your wrists, but evidently fail to cut a major artery.
02:23At around 4am, you resolved to cause an explosion at the house.
02:28You said this was also to kill yourself.
02:32When asked to explain what had happened by the emergency services in the immediate aftermath,
02:39you remained fixated on your self-absorbed belief that Annabel had betrayed you by respecting
02:47X's wishes not to tell you or her father what had happened to her until she was ready.
02:56You may be taken from the dock.
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