Samantha Mickleburgh, a mother of two from Axminster, Devon, was discovered dead at the Pennyhill Park Hotel in Bagshot, Surrey where she had stayed with James Cartwright
The son of a woman who was found dead at a luxury hotel where she stayed with her ex-fiancé has told a trial she felt “uncomfortable” about the trip.
Mother-of-two Samantha Mickleburgh, 54, from Axminster in Devon, was found at the Pennyhill Park Hotel in Bagshot, Surrey, on the morning of April 14 last year.
She had arranged to stay in a twin room with her ex-fiancé James Cartwright the night prior to celebrate his 60th birthday, a jury heard on Tuesday.
Cartwright, 61, of no fixed address, is standing trial at Guildford Crown Court accused of raping and murdering Ms Mickleburgh between April 12 and April 14 last year, which he denies.
Alexander Mickleburgh, Ms Mickleburgh’s youngest child, told the court he last spoke to his mother on the morning of April 13, when she dropped him off at a friend’s house in Surrey.
Asked whether the pair discussed the trip with Cartwright, Mr Mickleburgh told jurors: “She said ‘I made a promise and so I have to stick by it’. But she was uncomfortable.”
Mr Mickleburgh added: “She made it clear this was the last time she was going to see him.” Mr Mickleburgh, who lived together with his mother and Cartwright for a time in 2023, described the defendant’s behaviour around his mother as “poor, pathetic, and needy”.
“If mom ever did manage to go out without him, it would be constant texting and calling,” he said.
Ms Mickleburgh and Cartwright were engaged in September 2023, but Ms Mickleburgh ended their relationship in February 2024.
Jessica Mickleburgh, Ms Mickleburgh’s older daughter, also gave evidence on Tuesday. She told jurors the defendant made her mother feel guilty when she expressed reluctance to celebrate his 60th birthday with him.
Visibly upset, she told the court: “He sent her a lot of messages calling her cruel for not wanting to spend that time with him. I said that I didn’t think it was a good decision and if she was going to go she needed to book separate rooms. But because of costs, she didn’t feel right doing that.”
A juror was seen crying during Jessica Mickleburgh’s evidence, wiping away tears with a tissue. Cartwright also denies one count of controlling and coercive behaviour between May 1 2022 and April 14 2024. The trial continues.