Ex-Wales hockey coach who stabbed wife to death jailed for at least 21 years

The defendant told the trial his wife took her own life and was struggling with alcohol and mental health problems, although friends and family said they had no concerns about her drinking or her mental state, and that she had things to look forward to.

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Mohamed Samak

Jailing him for life yesterday, Judge James Burbidge KC said Samak's actions were "wicked beyond comprehension" and that he had destroyed the lives of Joanne's family. He said: "The emotion you disclose is either feigned or emotion based on self-pity. I cannot accept you are remorseful because you still deny responsibility and put Jo's loved ones through the trauma of two trials.

"You sought to besmirch her name by saying she drank to excess and was not in control of her mental faculties. Nothing could have been further from the truth. The trial heard she always was a woman who held everything together."

Wiping away tears, Joanne's mother, Penny Vale, told the court her family and friends will "never get over" the loss of the "irreplaceable" interior designer, who was looking forward to starting a new job and celebrating her 50th birthday.

She said: "She had everything to live for. As her mum, I am utterly heartbroken and not a day goes by where I don't think of Jo and cry.

"She was my baby. I watched her grow into a beautiful, confident, caring adult. We have had to listen to false allegations about her character and lifestyle.

"The truth is very different to the story that has been told. She was a hardworking and devoted mother."

Joanne's brother, Mark Vale, told the court his sister’s death was “unexpected, sudden, violent and immeasurably cruel”.

He said: "I miss her so much and a part of me died on that day as well. For this to happen in the home she loved and felt safe in is unthinkable.