A woman who stabbed a ‘devoted’ mother to death at a child’s birthday party has been jailed for life.
Hope Rowe, 33, from Aldgate, launched the deadly attack on Charlotte Lawlor, 31, at 1am at a property in Stepney Green, east London, September 15 with a knife used to cut a cake.
Mother-of-two Rowe hid the blade in her handbag before knifing Ms Lawlor in the chest and she continued to stab at her as she lay dying in a pool of blood.
London Ambulance Service attended the scene but Ms Lawlor died within an hour of paramedics arriving.
Rowe denied but was convicted of murder by a jury at Inner London Crown Court and Judge Freya Newberry sentenced her to 22 years in prison.
Ms Lawlor, who ‘just wanted to go home’ during the confrontation, was leaving the property to get a taxi home when Rowe leaned around her ‘MMA-expert’ boyfriend Leigh Holder, 37, and stabbed her in the chest – footage of which was played in court.
Jurors saw doorbell camera footage and CCTV from a bus showing Rowe’s movements after she fled the party.
The murderer handed herself into Bethnal Green Police Station at 7am on the day of the attack.
Hope Rowe, 33, (pictured) from Aldgate, east London tabbed a ‘devoted’ mother to death at a child’s birthday party with a knife used to cut the cake
Ms Lawlor, who ‘just wanted to go home’ during the confrontation, was leaving the property to get a taxi home when Rowe violently attacked her
She reached around her mixed martial arts expert boyfriend Leigh Holder, 37, (pictured) to stab the unsuspecting mother in the chest several times
Police bodyworn footage showed Rowe wearing a green puffer jacket putting her head in her hands as she asked an officer a: ‘Is it attempted murder, or murder?’
She admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility due to her mental health condition and loss of control.
Her boyfriend, who has a distinct rose tattoo on his neck, was convicted of perverting the course of justice by driving Ms Rowe away from the scene and helping get rid of the knife which has never been recovered.
Holder, who had previous convictions for violence including a nine year jail sentence for wounding with intent, was jailed for 16 months.
Prosecutor Charlotte Newell, KC, said there had been a ‘verbal disagreement at the party during which Ms Rowe indicated she sought a physical confrontation with the deceased.
Ms Newell said before the killing Rowe was seen on CCTV ‘agitated and angry’ outside the party.
She added: ‘She attacked her in revenge for disrespecting her and getting the better of her in a fight that she incited… She did not like the way Charlotte Lawlor stood up to her and spoke to her.’
‘She produced the knife from her bag. She was ranting and raving in the foyer.’
Rowe admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility due to her mental health condition and loss of control but was found guilty and sentenced to 22 years in prison
The murderer handed herself into Bethnal Green Police Station at 7am on the day of the attack
The prosecutor said Holder had tried to calm her down and she sat in his Range Rover parked outside.
Rowe then came out with the knife kept by her side and took Ms Lawlor by surprise as she stabbed her in the chest.
‘She ran after Charlotte and continued to stab at her as she lay in a pool of blood,’ Ms Newell said.
In her closing speech Ms Newell said from the moment Rowe and Holder left the scene ‘without a backward glance at the dead woman, they both knew that Rowe had stabbed and likely killed Charlotte Lawlor.
‘Yet they were not concerned for the victim of that attack.
‘Their concern was for themselves, and to evade, to whatever extent possible, taking responsibility for her actions.’
In a recorded voicemail Holder told Rowe: ‘You absolute idiot. You killed her you f**king idiot’, Rowe replied ‘Good’.
Ms Newell said: ‘The messages tell the unvarnished truth that she seeks to twist.
‘She was pleased when she thought that she had killed Charlotte Lawlor and he wanted her to get away with it.’
Rowe claimed she suffers from a personality disorder and as a result she lost control of her actions.
She also claimed Ms Lawlor had threatened her and this caused her to lose her temper and to lash out with the knife.
‘While her personality disorder may mean that she loses her temper more easily than others, that doesn’t mean that any reasonable person would stab someone in the same circumstances. We suggest that no reasonable person would do so.
‘The Crown suggest that Hope Rowe lied and lied about the threats to her to justify or to get away with her crime.
‘She didn’t lose control when she inflicted the fatal stab wound. She acted quite purposely.
‘She quite purposely wanted to hurt someone she didn’t like.
‘It appears that she had a pre-existing, baseless grudge against Charlotte Lawlor.
‘The only evidence of any threats from Charlotte Lawlor come from Hope Rowe herself, and she has every reason to lie.’
A 15-year-old witness, who cannot be named, said he had tried to intervene and pull Rowe away from Ms Lawlor in the street outside the party.
‘She (Ms Lawlor) starts coughing up blood. My cousin came down to see what had happened.
‘I put her on her side. I was holding her head. I saw blood on the floor. People were shouting.’
He said that he saw Rowe holding a kitchen knife with a red handle before describing how Ms Lawlor ‘collapsed in front of the door’.
‘I don’t know what they were saying but they were both shouting at each other. I got in between. They were not touching each other at that point,’ he said.
He said that he saw Rowe stabbing at Ms Lawlor ‘about three times.’
Hundreds of mourners had atttended the ‘devoted’ mother’s funeral at Islington and St Pancras Cemetery last October.
The prosecutor read a series of impact statements from Ms Lawlor’s grieving relatives.
Charlotte’s grandmother Sharon John said:’Since Charlotte’s death our entire family has been devastated beyond words. ‘I still find myself WhatsApping her.’
‘I find comfort in believing Charlotte is watching over us. She was the heart of our family.’
Charlotte’s son compiled a ‘remembrance video’ including photographs of him with his mother and a note he recorded was played in court.
It said: ‘Love you mum. I’m gonna miss you. I’m always gonna remember you and never forget you’.
Ms Newell was close to tears as she said ‘I’m so sorry’ and Judge Newbery adjourned the hearing briefly.
Judge Newbery told Rowe: ‘You took her from her family and first and foremost from her son.
‘His loss is unquantifiable. His loss was presented through his remembrance video which was shown in court.
‘That is demonstrably how truly tragic his loss is.
‘The light has gone out for the whole family, she was such an integral part of the family. Her loss has torn through the heart of the family.’
Judge Newbery said there had been a break in the argument with Ms Lawlor in which Holder took Rowe back into his Range Rover.
But she grabbed the knife from her handbag and came back with it held by her side.
‘You lunged at her chest with considerable force. Her seventh rib was breached, that was was the fatal blow.
‘The knife had been used to cut the birthday cake.’
Detective Sergeant Dean Musgrove, from the Met Police’s Specialist Crime North unit, said: ‘Hope Rowe launched a brutal attack on Charlotte Lawlor at what should have been a joyous occasion.
‘Our thoughts are with the victim’s family and friends, who will have to contend not only with the loss of a loved one, but with the trauma of having witnessed the killing.
‘As if the killing was not senseless enough, Rowe then tried to deceive investigators, disposing of the knife before turning herself in. It still has not been found to this day, and both Rowe and her partner were incriminated by a voicemail accidentally recorded on Rowe’s phone.’
In a statement, the victim’s parents said: ‘We are happy with the verdict.. We would like to thank the jury for their attention during the trial.
‘The family will never get over the loss and murder of Charlotte. It has destroyed us, leaving a gaping hole.
‘Charlotte’s son has been left without a mum, and siblings without their older sister and best friend.
‘Charlotte brought light to everyone’s life.’
