Jealous woman jailed for life for Christmas Day murder

Screengrab from handout bodyworn footage issued by Staffordshire Police of Kirsty Carless as she was arrested for murdering Louis Price (Staffordshire Police/PA) Staffordshire Police

A "jealous" woman who stabbed her ex-partner in the heart on Christmas Day after seeing his Tinder profile has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 25 years. Kirsty Carless, 33, plunged a knife into 31-year-old Louis Price's heart in the early hours of December 25, 2024, in an attack "motivated by anger and jealousy, and fuelled by cocaine and alcohol".

The fatal stabbing occurred at Price's parents' home in Elm Road, Norton Canes, after a friend sent Carless a picture of his dating profile. Stafford Crown Court heard how the attack destroyed "the life of a young man and his family".

Jury delivers unanimous verdict

On Wednesday, after around a day of deliberation, a jury of seven men and five women found Carless guilty of murder and possession of an offensive weapon by unanimous verdicts. She was also found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm by a majority of 11 to one in connection with an incident in November 2024.

However, Carless was cleared of intentional strangulation in relation to the same November incident. Sentencing her on Thursday in front of a packed public gallery, Judge Mr Justice Choudhury said Carless, of Haling Way in Cannock, Staffordshire, had "destroyed the life of a young man and his family".

No remorse shown in court

Carless showed no reaction in the dock as Mr Justice Choudhury passed his sentence. The judge said the defendant had shown "no remorse" for what she had done and instead falsely claimed she could not remember what had happened.

The court heard how the attack was triggered when Carless saw Price's Tinder profile, leading to the fatal confrontation at his family home on Christmas morning.

(PA) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.