BEDFORDSHIRE MAN JAILED FOR STRANGLING AND SETTING EX-PARTNER ON FIRE
In 2020, a man named Habib Jackson, aged 32 and residing on Dunstable Road in Toddington, was convicted of murdering his ex-partner, Louise Rump, at her flat in Kensworth, Bedfordshire.The court revealed that Jackson had planned an encounter to watch Rump perform a pole dance following the end of their relationship.
He was found guilty of asphyxiating Rump, who was 29 years old, and then deliberately igniting her body.
The fatal attack involved strangulation, with the subsequent attempt to incinerate her body to destroy evidence.
Jackson was sentenced at St Albans Crown Court to a minimum of 23 years in prison and a life sentence, with a further 21 years and 168 days before parole eligibility.
During the trial, prosecutor David Matthew noted that Jackson had struck a “deal” with Rump, involving her performing a dance in underwear he selected—an arrangement that ended tragically.
Firefighters who responded to the scene discovered Louise’s body in her bedroom, bruised and with a plastic water bottle suspected of containing accelerant, indicative of a premeditated effort to conceal evidence.
The relationship had ended about a year before her death, with her body only discovered after the fire.
Christopher Hayward, aged 32 and involved as an accomplice, was acquitted of murder charges.
The court emphasized that the fire was a calculated attempt to impede forensic analysis and hinder the investigation.
