Abuser who walked free from court after attacking girlfriend murdered her two weeks later

A man has been jailed for life after murdering his girlfriend two weeks after he walked free from court for assaulting her.

Robert Massey, 43, strangled Jacqueline Forest, 49, before stabbing her and writing profanities over her skin at her home in Merseyside in August.

He had been released from court on a community order earlier that month after pouring vodka over the victim and threatening to set her on fire.

Massey had accused Ms Forest of being unfaithful before killing her.

Read more: Grieving mum who lost child reveals her 'rainbow baby' has cancer

Massey, 43, of Piele Road, pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to a minimum of 28 years in prison at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday.

He also admitted the attempted murder of two men, Anthony Murphy and Graham Roberts.

Police were called to a property on Piele Road, Haydock, on the morning of 31 August amid concern for the safety of Ms Forest, who was known friends and family as Jaki.

Paramedics attended but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

The cause of death was given as blunt force trauma to the head and manual asphyxiation by strangulation or suffocation.

Ms Forest had been in a relationship with Massey since the summer of 2020 and he had spent time living at her home.

He had subjected her to abuse in mid-August after attempting to kick down her front door, the court heard.

On 15 August this year, Massey was handed an 18-month community order at Liverpool Magistrates' Court after assaulting her and banned from attending her address for 28 days.

Despite the ban, the couple met up again in a park over the subsequent bank holiday weekend and spent much of the next few days together - mostly in her home.

Read more: Count who shot wife's dog dead during 'acrimonious' divorce is fined £2,000

At around 7pm on 30 August, Massey was in her bed while she was in the shower.

He began looking through her phone and found messages which "suggested she had been unfaithful with two other men" - namely Murphy and Massey's “best friend” Roberts.

Massey later confessed to police that he "saw red" and attacked Ms Forest by confronting her when she got out of the shower, grabbing her by the neck and "straddling her" on the bed.

In what Andrew Ford KC, prosecuting, described as "macabre and sadistic" behaviour, Massey then covered her dead body with a towel, placed a watch on her wrist and shoes on her feet, put a handbag over her arm and sunglasses over her face and positioned a jewellery box on top of her.

Massey and Ms Forest had been consuming vodka and he continued drinking and also took cocaine after the murder.

Mr Murphy arrived at the scene at around 8.30am on 31 August after Massey had sent him messages from the victim’s phone.

Massey then took him into the bedroom and showed him Ms Forest's body, telling him "look what you've f***ing caused".

He was stabbed three times in the back and twice in the neck, but was able to flee to a neighbouring flat.

Massey later attacked Mr Roberts outside his workplace in Norris Green at 6.30pm.

The victim managed to disarm his assailant and jumped into a passing car but he sustained stab wounds to his right arm, chest and behind his right ear.