James Cartwright, who raped and murdered his ex-fiancé in a luxury hotel in Bagshot, Surrey then tried to lie his way out of the horrific crime, has been sentenced
A vile “lonely” man who raped and killed his ex-fiancé in a “vicious and murderous attack” at a luxury hotel has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 28 years.
James Cartwright, 61, murdered mum-of-two Samantha Mickleburgh, 54, in a five-star Surrey hotel last April after she agreed to stay in a twin room with her ex because she “didn’t want him to feel lonely” on his birthday. The victim’s heartbroken family branded the murdered an “evil, controlling, manipulative predator”.
The monster had called 999 the next morning and claimed he found Samantha dead next to him in the morning, before spinning a larger web of lies around the mother’s horror death. It comes after a mum who left work ‘abruptly’ was then found dead in a hotel room.
The pair had lived together and Cartwright proposed on a beach holiday a year later but their relationship quickly deteriorated. The relationship began to break down when Cartwright discovered “highly sexual” messages from Samantha’s former partner on her phone and later on her laptop.
One day, he confronted her and admitted standing in front of her car to stop her leaving their home after an argument. Although they continued to live together until February 2024 and remained physically intimate, he said he no longer trusted her.
About two weeks before moving out, he found further messages between Ms Mickleburgh and her ex-partner but chose not to confront her. Instead, he said he asked if they had been in touch, and she denied it – something he described as “almost terminal on my part”.
After their separation, Cartwright began speaking to other women on the dating app Bumble, and told one that the forthcoming dinner with his ex had “the feel of a final farewell”. Another message described it as “the last goodbye”.
The pair met at the five-star Pennyhill Park Hotel in Bagshot on April 14, 2024, for Cartwright’s 60th birthday – Samantha went as she believed he had nobody else to go with. Samantha was looking to move on with her life after this final compassionate act, but her ex strangled her to death.
Cartwright called 999 and told responding paramedics and police officers that she had fallen over at some point in the night implying that might be the cause of death. A subsequent forensic post-mortem discovered that Samantha had sustained several injuries including a fractured skull and signs of strangulation of her neck.
A jury unanimously convicted him in July, after one afternoon of deliberation, of murder and rape between April 12 and April 14 last year, but acquitted him of controlling and coercive behaviour between May 1 2022 and April 14 2024.
Sentencing the defendant at Guildford Crown Court on Friday, Mr Justice Murray told him: “Collectively (Ms Mickleburgh’s family) described Samantha’s wonderful qualities as a daughter, as a mother and as a sister – caring, thoughtful, fun, well-organised, generous to a fault and devoted to her family. Samantha’s family suffer a grief that those who have not experienced it cannot imagine. It lies beyond words to fully describe.”
In a statement through Surrey Police, Ms Mickleburgh’s family had said: “We as a family, are relieved that this has finally come to an end. That the defendant has been seen for who he truly is, a rapist and a murderer. No longer free to harm or control any more women.
“Unfortunately it was too late for our beloved daughter, mother, sister and friend. She truly was the best of us, the kindest light in all our lives and the hole left behind is one of such severe magnitude we will likely never escape it.”
