Children who lay by dying mother after she was stabbed by ex-partner tell murderer they hate him as he's jailed for life

Two children lay by their dying mother, one comforting her and the other praying for her life, after she was brutally stabbed by her jealous ex-partner who had stalked her for months. Perseverance Ncube, 35, and her two children ran away in terror after Obert Moyo broke into their home in Salford and began strangling her.

The children, aged 10 and 12, were woken up in the middle of the night by their mother's screams as Moyo launched the horror attack. They bravely tried to fight him off, allowing their mother time to try and escape.

But as mum - known as 'Percy' to friends - and the children ran from the house on Dukesgate Grove in Little Hulton in the early hours of November 10 last year, Moyo soon caught up and stabbed her in the heart with a skewer with 'severe' force.

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One of Ms Ncube's children laid by her in the street after she was stabbed, while the other child 'prayed for her mother's life'.

Manchester Crown Court heard the pair had been in a relationship for about 18 months, but that Ms Ncube had broken up with him after she learned that he'd been seeing other women. Despite Ms Ncube telling him 'in no uncertain terms' that their relationship was over after she met a new partner, Moyo began turning up outside her home and 'stalking' her.

At the time of the murder, Moyo was on licence having been released from prison for a brutal attack on another ex partner. He had been jailed for 14 years after cutting the woman with a knife and strangling her. On Tuesday, Moyo, 46, was jailed for life - with a minimum term of 27 years - after pleading guilty to murdering Ms Ncube.

Heartbreaking statements were read in court on behalf of her children. Addressing Moyo, Ms Ncube's daughter said: "I just want to say you ruined my whole life. You stole my mum from me. If you don't care I hope you get a life sentence. I really thought you were like a father to me, but you're not.

"I don't even know you anymore. I hate you." Her son said he experiences a 'burning pain' every day without his mother. "I miss her, I miss being able to hug her, being able to walk to her," he said.

"I blame myself, believing I could and should have done more. Bargaining like giving my life, or an arm or a leg for her. He viciously attacked a woman who did nothing wrong. He could have just moved on."

In a message to his late mother, the boy added: "Mum, I miss you. I will always love you." Sentencing, Judge Patrick Field KC said of the children: "Their loss is incalculable. What they witnessed was utterly terrible."

He told Moyo, of Pennington Road, Bolton, who sat with his head in his hands throughout the hearing: "This was a calculated, premeditated, brutal and wicked offence. I am sure to the appropriate standard that you intended to kill Ms Ncube."

Defending, Dafydd Enoch KC said Moyo was suffering from 'severe mental health difficulties' at the time. "He has a real problem with the break up of relationships." he said of Moyo.

"There is clearly something in his psyche which causes him to behave wholly inappropriately when relationships are brought to an end. It is almost impossible to ascertain why that is."