Murderer snorted cocaine and sang Sweet Caroline in the pub after beating girlfriend to death

During a cocaine-fuelled evening at his local pub, David Liptrot shocked fellow patrons with a chilling confession. As he casually dropped the bombshell, the atmosphere in the tavern took a dark turn.

One disgusted drinker couldn't stomach Liptrot's words and promptly reported him to the landlady. When confronted about his troubling statement, 55-year-old Liptrot ominously remarked: "If there is ever big problems, you get rid of them, you get shut."

As he belted out Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline and snorted lines of cocaine, his partner, Caroline Gore, lay dead on her bathroom floor. During a break from his partying, Liptrot told to another punter he had killed the 43-year-old.

Pub staff attempted without success to reach Ms Gore, a cleaner from Wigan, leading them to call the police. Officers went round to her flat and found her body in the bathroom.

Liptrot, of Shelley Close, Coppull, Lancashire, denied murdering Ms Gore, who was described as 'vulnerable' due to her mental health struggles. But a jury at Manchester Crown Court found him guilty after just 90 minutes of deliberation, reports the Manchester Evening News.

Today, August 16, Her Honour Judge Suzanne Goddard sentenced Liptrot to 20 years behind bars. She condemned his cold-blooded actions, stating: "Your behaviour, knowing as you must have done that Caroline Gore was dead in your hands, was callous and shows the hollowness of your protestations in evidence that you truly loved her."

Prosecutors described how Liptrot launched a 'brutal, sustained and clearly forceful attack' on Ms Gore on October 29, 2023, after the pair had spent time arguing in pubs in Atherton. Alaric Bassano, prosecuting, told the court of their 'on-off, toxic relationship', which involved 'excessive drinking on both parts'.

Liptrot met up with Ms Gore at the Wheatsheaf pub in Atherton at around 3.50pm for drinks, where she became distressed and began to cry. Mr Bassano detailed an incident around 5pm when tension rose between them, resulting in Ms Gore appearing troubled and trying to distance herself from him.

The court heard an 'agitated' Liptrot had later forcefully knocked on the women's toilet door as he looked for her. Meanwhile, despite her upset state, Ms Gore headed to the Dog and Partridge pub in Wigan.

Later that evening at around 8pm, Liptrot stealthily entered her flat at Douglas House, and waited. Ms Gore returned at 11.06pm, and just seventeen minutes Liptrot fled the scene having fatally stabbed her. The next day, while at the pub, Liptrot chillingly confessed to a fellow drinker, "I've killed Caroline."

The court also established the lengths Liptrot went to cover his tracks by disposing of both his own and Ms Gore's mobile phones preventing scrutiny of their messages as well as discarding the murder weapon in bushes close to a bus stop.

Police discovered Ms Gore in her flat at 8.23pm on October 30, 2023. Slumped on the bathroom floor in front of the toilet, she was found with her keys next to her and had sustained severe wounds to her neck, chest, and stomach causing serious internal injuries.

During last month's trial, Liptrot alleged Ms Gore had attacked him, but during his sentencing today, August 16, shocking details emerged, showing he had a long history of previous convictions, including domestic violence towards other partners and against Ms Gore herself.

The court heard about Liptrot's 48 previous court appearances for 85 offences, stretching back to 1979. Prosecutor Mr Bassano detailed how Liptrot's past was punctuated by stints in prison, with convictions for domestic violence against former partners in 2018 and 2021, and against Ms Gore in both 2022 and 2023.

In October 2022, he was issued a restraining order against her, which he breached on two occasions before killing her. On October 24 - five days before Ms Gore's murder - he unsuccessfully applied to have the restraining order lifted.

Nigel Power, defending, said: "[Liptrot] speaks warmly of the deceased and did so at times during the trial." However, as Liptrot stood in the dock donning a grey Under Armour top and previously acknowledging his supporters in the gallery, no emotion flickered across his face when Her Honour Judge Goddard sentenced him to life imprisonment.

There were tears and scenes of emotion in the public gallery as Liptrot was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years imprisonment before being considered for parole. Judge Goddard said: "Experience shows women do not find it easy to break away from a man they love even though he has treated her violently and abusively."

"It was you that should have stayed away from Caroline Gore - not speaking to her from prison and immediately rekindling the relationship when you left prison."

Following the sentencing, Duncan Thorpe, Senior Investigating Officer at GMP's Major Incident Team, commented: "This is such a sad loss of life. No one should suffer at the hands of their partner and this is a very horrific and sad case where Caroline lost her life in a violent domestic attack.

"Our thoughts are with Caroline's family and friends at this incredibly difficult time. I know the sentence passed here today won't bring Caroline back to be with her family, but I do hope it will go some way to giving them all some form of closure in knowing what happened to Caroline and that Liptrot will be behind bars for a very long time."

In a moving tribute, Ms Gore's said: "We as a family are heartbroken and saddened at the loss of Caroline. A dearly loved mum, daughter and sister has been tragically taken way too soon. At this time we as a family ask for privacy and show respect for Caroline and her memory."