Electrician Clifton George, 45, was jailed for life after being convicted of murdering his partner Annabel Rook, 46, stabbing her 31 times during a row at their east London home after she said they should end their 10-year relationship, before triggering a gas explosion that caused £400,000 of damage
An electrician who stabbed a judge’s daughter to death in a frenzied attack before destroying their home in a gas explosion has been sentenced to life imprisonment.
Clifton George, 45, murdered his partner Annabel Rook, 46, inflicting 31 stab wounds during an argument at their east London home after she had told him their 10-year relationship was over.
Following the killing, George deliberately ignited a fire in the basement to trigger a gas canister explosion that tore through the property, causing approximately £400,000 worth of damage.
At Snaresbrook Crown Court on Tuesday, Mr Justice Constable KC handed George a life sentence, ruling that he must serve a minimum of 23 years before being considered for parole.
The judge acknowledged that George could be personable and entertaining, yet possessed “another troubling side to your character”, reports the Mirror.
“An overwhelming picture has emerged of your rage, anger, and volatility”, said the judge, adding that George had a “pronounced temper” which could be sparked by trivial matters and “perceived slights”.
Paying tribute to Ms Rook, the judge remarked that her character “shone brightly” through the accounts of loved ones, describing her as “kind, attentive, funny, and altruistically motivated, and someone whose instinct was to support, to listen, and to improve the lives of others.”
The judge dismissed George’s claim during the trial that he had been provoked by Ms Rook pushing him, stating such behaviour would have been “completely out of character” for her. “She feared you, she feared your wrath,” he said.
“In your rage and fury, you brutally stabbed Annabel to death.”
He further stated that even following the murder and explosion, George “remained fixated on your self-absorbed belief that Annabel had betrayed you”.
Ms Rook’s father, retired Old Bailey judge Peter Rook, described George as “utterly selfish”, while her mother Susanna Rook denounced him as “a wicked, totally narcissistic, damaged person”.
Delivering a victim impact statement in court, Mrs Rook struggled to contain her emotions as she described her daughter as “optimistic, inclusive, and full of fun”.
“We know we will never be able to come to terms with her death, and life without her is painful and hard to bear,” she said.
“We do feel Clifton betrayed the trust we placed in him. We welcomed him into the family in every way we could.
“Bearing in mind his short fuse, particularly when in drink, we realise his inability to understand and address his own problems means he is, was, and will continue to be a dangerous man.”
Ms Rook’s sister Sophie told the court: “Without Annabel, there is less joy and less hope.”
She revealed that her sister’s killing had left the family grappling with the “painful question of whether we could have done more to help her escape”.
George was found guilty at trial of murder and admitted arson in connection with the gas explosion he triggered after fatally stabbing his partner. His attempt to cite loss of self-control as a partial defence to the killing swiftly unravelled, undermined by evidence of his volatile temper, angry outbursts directed at Ms Rook throughout their relationship, and at least one occasion on which he had been physically violent towards her.
Sophie Rook spoke of the anguish of listening to George’s defence case, saying his efforts to shift the blame onto her sister felt like a second attack on her.
Ms Rook was the co-founder of social enterprise MamaSuze, which supported refugee women and children through creative arts workshops.
George killed her on the night of 16 June last year at their home in Dumont Road, Stoke Newington, punching and throttling her before arming himself with a kitchen knife.
George was heard shouting “you lied” as he carried out the murder, and the court was told he had flown into a rage upon discovering that Ms Rook had kept a secret from him that had been shared with her in confidence.
Following the murder, George triggered the gas explosion – described by neighbours as akin to a “mini earthquake” – which tore through the property and blew off part of the roof.
Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC argued during the trial that the blast had been George’s attempt to destroy evidence of the murder, as well as a final “up yours” to the Rook family.
When neighbours came to investigate following the explosion, George was discovered lying on the kitchen floor covered in blood. He acknowledged that he had “lost it” before taking Ms Rook’s life, and subsequently attempted to stab himself with a fragment of broken glass.
In his defence, George maintained that he did not have a “short fuse”, yet friends and family of Ms Rook provided testimony that painted a very different picture of his character.
Ms Rook’s closest friend, Sian Davin, told jurors she believed George required therapy for his anger issues, and recounted an incident in which he shoved Ms Rook against a wall and seized her by the throat.
She stated that he displayed “unreasonable flashing rage anger” on occasions, would fat-shame and gaslight Ms Rook, and had a “tendency to over-react about small trivial things”.
Daniel Varani, a former flatmate of Ms Rook, spoke warmly of their time living together, but revealed he chose to move out shortly after George arrived, owing to his “angry outbursts”.
The court was told of an incident in 2024 in which George stormed out of Glastonbury Festival following a row with one of Ms Rook’s friends, before drunkenly haranguing his partner.
In a separate incident, George had flown into a rage when Ms Rook washed his chef’s knives and left them to drip-dry rather than putting them away immediately.
In 2023, Ms Rook tearfully confided in her father about George’s volatile temper, saying that living with him was like “walking on eggshells” and raising the possibility of ending the relationship for the first time. She confided in her close friend Catherine Milne about the difficulties in the relationship, while insisting there had been no violence and saying: “I don’t think he would do that.”
Ms Davin told the court that her friend had acknowledged by summer 2024 that the relationship was “abusive”, and just a couple of weeks before her death, Ms Rook left her sister a voicemail stating the relationship was “not tenable”.
“I fear there will be some more wrath to come,” she said, in a heartbreaking voicenote which was played during the trial, where she went on to predict they would “get through this and will be stronger for it out the other side”.
Prior to the fatal stabbing, Ms Rook had informed George that they should part ways and that he should vacate their home, which she owned.
Despite this, she had intended to give her partner £50,000 to help him secure a new property, and retained hopes that the pair would continue to holiday together in the future.
George, who had been drinking red wine on the night of the murder, had discovered that he held no legal entitlement to any share of the property, and subsequently initiated an argument with Ms Rook.
“In the course of that argument he punched her, he then tried to strangle her, and then he went to the kitchen to get a knife, he came back with the knife and he stabbed her to death,” said Mr Emlyn Jones.
“He lost his temper, and in his rage he murdered Annabel.”
In her victim impact statement, Ms Milne pledged to carry on running MamaSuze as a “great way to keep Annabel’s legacy alive”. But she added: “It will never be the same.”
Ms Rook’s killing was “an attack on all of us at MamaSuze, and it felt so personal and abhorrent for a women’s community leader to be killed like this in her own home.”
She continued: “I will never understand why Clifton George felt such contempt and hatred towards someone I loved so much.”
George, a qualified electrician whose previous projects included Crossrail and the Northern Line extension, stared straight ahead from the dock as Ms Rook’s family delivered their victim impact statements.
The trial heard that he had suffered violent abuse at the hands of his mother during childhood, which ultimately led to him being placed into care. George also told the court that as a young boy he had been deeply traumatised after discovering his infant sister dead in her cot.
His barrister, Mathew Sherratt KC, told the court: “He understands this is a terrible thing he has done.”
George had entered a guilty plea prior to the trial for manslaughter and arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered. The jury returned a unanimous verdict of murder.
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