Andrew Hooper: ‘Jealous’ farmer guilty of shooting estranged wife dead in front of teenage daughter
Judge sentences man to life imprisonment over 'planned execution' killing
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Farmer Andrew Hooper has been found guilty of murdering his estranged wife in a “savage” shotgun attack outside her home.
Cheryl Gabriel-Hooper was shot dead in front of her teenage daughter as she returned to her home in Newport, Shropshire, on 26 January 2018.
Judge Mark Wall QC sentenced Hooper to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 31 years at Birmingham Crown Court for the murder.
The judge said: "This was not a spur-of-the-moment killing, it was one that you [Hooper] had planned in the hours leading up to it. I am sure it was your intention to kill."
He noted Hooper, who showed no emotion at the unanimous guilty verdict, had not expressed any remorse or regret after leaving a "horrific aftermath" when he fled the scene.
The court heard that the man killed his wife because he was “consumed with anger and jealously” after she left him.
He then turned the gun on himself, suffering significant facial injuries and losing the ability to speak after shooting himself in the face.
Following the verdict, it was revealed Hooper was given a suspended sentence in 2004 after he broke into his first wife’s home and threatened to kill her.
Prosecutor David Mason QC told the court: "This defendant, after they had separated, broke into her house one night armed with a knife and surgical gloves, and threatened to kill her and her new partner.
“That's the only conviction he has. He was prosecuted for aggravated burglary but in fact pleaded guilty to an affray and received a suspended sentence."
Hooper was described as having “murder in his eyes” by Cheryl’s daughter, Georgia, who was 14 at the time and witnessed the shooting.
Georgia recalled her mother screaming: “Oh my god, he’s here.”
“Mum couldn’t have moved the car even if she had tried,” she told police. “He looked like a psychopath.”
Detective Inspector Mark Bellamy, the senior investigating officer for West Mercia Police’s Major Investigation Unit, said: "Cheryl Hooper was a devoted loving, mum, daughter and friend to her family and all those who knew her.
"Tragically she was murdered by her controlling and jealous husband in a pre-meditated act of the most savage violence.
"The act was witnessed by innocent members of the public who too have suffered greatly from the trauma of witnessing such a barbaric act.”
He added: "Hooper continued his controlling and cowardly behaviour by refusing to acknowledge his actions and forcing a young girl, traumatised by the incident, to give evidence at a Crown Court trial.
"I hope Hooper spends the rest of his life reflecting on the devastation that he has caused.”
Cheryl Hooper’s parents, Tony and Rita, also paid tribute to their daughter.
They said: "We cannot fully express the sorrow, sadness and pain of losing our beautiful daughter Cheryl in such dreadful circumstances.
"Cheryl was a wonderful daughter, mother, sister and friend; she was beautiful both inside and out - full of kindness to everyone she came into contact with.”
Agencies contributed to this report