Ex-hockey star jailed for murdering wife in Droitwich

Ex-hockey coach Mohamed Samak jailed for life for murdering wife Joanne at their Droitwich home — just hours before she was due to start a new job. Former Egypt international hockey player Mohamed Samak has been jailed for life for murdering his wife Joanne at their family home in Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire. The 43-year-old, who played for his country before moving to Britain to work as a coach, was convicted following a retrial at Worcester Crown Court after jurors rejected his claim that his wife had stabbed herself. He will serve a minimum term of 19 years and 247 days before he can be considered for parole.

During the retrial, Samak maintained that his wife had taken her own life, telling jurors she returned home late that night holding a knife before stabbing herself repeatedly in front of their young son. He insisted he had tried to stop her but was unable to intervene in time, describing how she “moved in very quick motions” before collapsing beside the bed.

The prosecution rejected his account, arguing that Samak murdered his wife following months of marital tension, financial strain & a rekindled relationship with another woman. They said he deliberately delayed calling 999 for over an hour while hiding his bloodstained clothing in the loft — a discovery made only a week before the end of the retrial, more than a year after her death.

Sentencing him on Friday, Judge James Burbidge KC said Samak had spun “a wicked story” in an attempt to escape responsibility for what he had done. “I cannot accept you are remorseful,” the judge told him. “You still deny your accountability.”

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Dressed in a black tracksuit, Samak sat shaking his head and muttering throughout the hearing. When asked to stand for sentence, he refused to rise and had to be lifted by security officers, who later removed him from the dock by each arm.

The court heard how the defendant fatally stabbed his 49-year-old wife six times on 1 July 2024 before waiting more than an hour to call 999. He later attempted to convince police and paramedics that Joanne had turned the knife on herself. “My wife’s got a knife in her tummy,” he told the operator, giving the impression that she had self-inflicted the injuries.

Emergency crews arrived to find Mrs Samak dead at the scene. Pathologist Dr Alexander Kolar said one of the six stab wounds had pierced her heart and breastbone, requiring major force. The jury heard that rather than confusion and shock, as the defendant claimed, the delay before calling for help had allowed him to conceal vital evidence linking him to the killing.