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| Former partner guilty of murder | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A man who killed his former partner after she ended their relationship has been convicted of murder. | |
| Trevor Ferguson will serve a minimum of 17 years of a life sentence before being considered for parole. | Trevor Ferguson will serve a minimum of 17 years of a life sentence before being considered for parole. |
| Ferguson, 49, from Manchester, had admitted killing Karen McGraw, 50, at her Flintshire home, but denied murder. | |
| Judge John Rogers at Mold Crown Court commended Flintshire council, North Wales Police and agencies who support abused women for their prompt response. | |
| Outside the court, Miss McGraw's daughter Kimberley McGraw read a statement on behalf of the family. | |
| She will be dearly missed but never, ever forgotten Kimberley McGraw, victim's daughter | |
| "Our lives were devastated when our mum Karen was brutally murdered at her home address in Connah's Quay," she said. | |
| "Words cannot describe how we felt on that dreadful day." | |
| She said her mother's "unexpected, tragic and violent death" had left four children, Kimberley, Hayley, Caohme and Wayne, and three grandchildren. | |
| The family had had their "ups and downs", but "at the end of the day she was, and still will be always, our mum", she said. | |
| "She will be dearly missed but never, ever forgotten." | |
| The Independent Police Complaints Commission is carrying out an investigation into the role of the police following the victim's repeated calls for help. | |
| A spokesperson for North Wales Police said: "Our sympathies are with Karen's family. | |
| We are pleased with the outcome today, but recognise that there may be learning points for us as a result of the IPCC independent investigation into this case North Wales Police | |
| "We are pleased with the outcome today, but recognise that there may be learning points for us as a result of the IPCC independent investigation into this case. " | |
| The spokesperson said the force was "committed" to bringing domestic violence offenders to account and all complaints are "fully investigated". | |
| "Unless there are very good reasons not to do so officers will arrest anyone who is found to be abusing their partner," the spokesperson said. | |
| No mercy | |
| Judge Rogers told Ferguson that he had shown his victim no mercy as he stabbed her three times. | |
| "You ended her life simply because she refused to take you back into her home," he said. | |
| The jury took three and three-quarter hours to reach their unanimous guilty verdict of murder, and rejected his claims that he had been provoked. | |
| The judge said the defendant and Miss McGraw lived in her home at Connah's Quay, and it was initially a loving relationship. | |
| Arguments and violence | |
| But there had been arguments and violence and on the victim's 50th birthday on 14 May he assaulted her and damaged her property, and on 3 July was given a conditional discharge by Wrexham magistrates. | |
| The relationship deteriorated further, and Miss McGraw's refusal to take him back led Ferguson to take revenge, said the judge. | |
| Judge Rogers said Karen McGraw was a mother, grandmother and a valued member of her community. | |
| "No sentence of this court can in any way compensate for the loss of her life or console her family and friends," he said. | |
| The judge added it was an aggravating feature that the murder was premeditate and pre-planned, and to a lesser extent, the fact that his victim was vulnerable. | |
| The judge said the response of all those concerned was "prompt and it was professional". |