A JEALOUS husband who shot dead his estranged wife in front of her 14-year-old daughter in a “planned execution” has today been caged for life. Andrew Hooper, 46, blasted Cheryl Hooper, 51, twice in the throat with an antique shotgun before turning the gun on himself in a botched suicide bid. The farmer was “consumed […]
A JEALOUS husband who shot dead his estranged wife in front of her 14-year-old daughter in a “planned execution” has today been caged for life.
Andrew Hooper, 46, blasted Cheryl Hooper, 51, twice in the throat with an antique shotgun before turning the gun on himself in a botched suicide bid.
The farmer was “consumed with anger” and flipped out when he discovered his wife was in a sexual relationship with another man.
The beast lay in wait for his wife and blasted her through the front passenger window as her terrified teen daughter Georgia screamed: “He’s shot my mum”.
Hooper then drove home to Newport, Shropshire, on January 26, 2018, where he wrote a suicide note to his son accusing Cheryl of “cheating” before shooting himself in the head
He survived but was left with horror injuries that caused him to lose the ability to speak and is only able to communicate by tapping words on a computer.
The monster was today caged for life with a minimum of 31 years after being found guilty of murder at Birmingham Crown Court.
Cheryl’s brave daughter Georgia paid tribute to her mum and “best friend” after the verdict today.
She said: “On 26 January 2018 my life got turned upside down.
“I never imagined my life without my mum. Mum and I were inseparable, we were a team and we did everything together.
“Mum was funny, beautiful and my best friend, the thought of her not being with me to share my life makes me very sad.
“I relied on her for everything – she was my world and I was hers. I love you mum.”
During his trial, jurors heard the couple had been married for 18 months when Cheryl moved out because of Hooper’s “controlling” behaviour.
She sent a string of chilling texts to a pal in the months before her death saying she was terrified of her husband.
One read: “Fearing your loved one is not right,” while another said: “I feel fear when I go in the farmhouse.
“It was my home and now I feel scared of it.”
“We cannot fully express the sorrow, sadness and pain of losing our beautiful daughter Cheryl in such dreadful circumstances.
“Cheryl was a wonderful daughter, mother, sister and friend; she was beautiful both inside and out – full of kindness to everyone she came into contact with.
“As her family, we shared a wonderful close bond with her, she was so special, loving and caring in every way and we miss her every single day.
“Cheryl was a true Christian and it was typical of her to put others before herself.
“It has taken some 17 months to bring this case to court, which has been an incredibly difficult time for us all as a family.
“We would like to thank those who tried to help Cheryl on the night and the police for all their help and support during this difficult time.
“God bless you Cheryl, we love you – our lives will never be the same without you.”
On the night she was killed, Hooper followed Cheryl to a pub and confronted her in front of her new lover Ian Preece and branded him a “f***ing b*****d”.
He drove home and was captured on CCTV carrying what appeared to be a shotgun into the back of his car before making his way to Cheryl’s home.
The beast blasted her through the front passenger window of the car as screaming Georgia raised the alarm.
Medics frantically battled to save Cheryl but she was tragically declared dead at the scene.
Meanwhile, Hooper was discovered with gunshot wounds to his head and it was another eight months before cops could finally quiz him.
The farmer denied murdering Cheryl and insisted he was just trying to scare her when the gun accidentally went off.
But jailing him today, Judge Mark Wall QC told him: “The sentence that I must pass on you is one that you richly deserve – life imprisonment.
“This was not a spur-of-the-moment killing, it was one that you had planned in the hours leading up to it. I am sure it was your intention to kill.”
Saying Hooper had not expressed any remorse or regret after leaving a “horrific aftermath” when he fled the scene, the judge added: “This was not a last-minute decision to kill arrived at outside Cheryl’s, but rather a planned execution.”
More to follow…
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