COLCHESTER WOMAN CONVICTED OF MURDERING HER BOYFRIEND WITH A KNIFE
A WOMAN who stabbed her boyfriend in the back following a row will serve a minimum of 14 years in jail after she was convicted of murder.Tammy Fletcher plunged a knife into Marcus Witham after a drug-fuelled row at their home in Colchester.
The 37-year-old denied killing Mr Witham at Nathan Court in November 2006, but a jury of nine men and three women returned a unanimous guilty verdict at Chelmsford Crown Court.
Fletcher, who had previous convictions for drug possession, asked police “is he dead yet?” as neighbours and paramedics tried in vain to save the 37-year-old's life.
She told the court she could not remember the attack but said they rowed after she pleaded with Mr Witham to stop dealing hard drugs.
Speaking after the verdict, Det Insp Godfrey O'Toole said: “Tammy Fletcher and her boyfriend Marcus Witham had a volatile relationship that has resulted in his death.
When Tammy Fletcher picked up a knife during an argument with her boyfriend Marcus on November 1, 2006 she intended to cause him serious harm.
She has been found guilty at court and will have to pay the price for her actions.
Our thoughts today are with the family of Marcus Witham.” Mr Witham's parents, Anne and John Witham, issued a statement, saying: “We have found losing Marcus in such a tragic way very difficult to come to terms with.
In fact I don't know that I as his mum will ever be able to.
Now this trial is over we have to get our lives back together and carry on as best we can for his sake and ours.
We will always miss him and we will treasure our memories of him for always and look back on him often.
The Marcus that we knew and loved dearly lived his life to the full the way that he chose to.
He was a big hearted, fun loving, caring, considerate boy with a great sense of humour and he would help anyone if he could.
We would like to thank everyone concerned that we have been there for us and shown us so much kindness and compassion during the last 20 months when it hasn't been easy to carry on.
The jury had been told Fletcher and Mr Witham were drug users and smoked cannabis before the killing on November 1.
David Holborn, prosecuting, said that the pair were heard having a “heated argument” by their neighbours in the early hours of the morning on the day he died.
Mr Holborn said it was “probably a continuation of the argument they had started earlier in the day”.
A post mortem examination found Mr Witham died of a single stab wound which had deeply penetrated his right lung.
