Hope Rowe jailed for life for stabbing woman to death at child’s party in east London

A killer who stabbed a ‘devoted’ mother to death with a knife used to cut the cake at a child’s birthday party has been jailed for at least 22 years.

Hope Rowe, 33, hid the blade in her handbag before murdering Charlotte Lawlor, 31, in Stepney Green, east London, on September 15 last year.

Rowe, a mum-of-two, stabbed Ms Lawlor in the chest and then continued attacking her as she lay dying in a pool of blood.

London Ambulance Service attended the scene but pronounced Ms Lawlor dead at the scene.

Prosecutor Charlotte Newell, KC, told the court the pair had argued at the party before suggesting she wanted to fight Ms Lawlor.

Shortly before the murder, Rowe was ‘agitated and angry’ on CCTV outside the party, before taking a knife from her bag.

Rowe’s partner had tried to calm her down, sitting her in his Range Rover parked outside. She then came out with the knife kept by her side and took Ms Lawlor by surprise as she stabbed her in the chest.

Rowe and her partner, Leigh Holder, reportedly left the scene without glancing back at Ms Lawlor, Ms Newell said, adding: ‘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-cking idiot,’ to which Rowe replied, ‘Good.’

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 to lash out with the knife, which the court heard had been used to cut a child’s birthday cake earlier in the day.

‘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,’ the court heard.

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 when she began to cough up blood.

‘My cousin came down to see what had happened,’ the witness said. ‘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 knife, which he described as a ‘kitchen knife’ with a red handle.

He said that he saw Rowe stabbing at Ms Lawlor ‘about three times.’

At Inner London Crown Court, jurors were shown doorbell camera footage and CCTV from a bus tracking Rowe’s movements after she fled the party.

Police bodyworn footage also showed Rowe, wearing a green puffer jacket she put her head in her hands as she asked an officer at Bethnal Green Police Station: ‘Murder?’ Is it attempted murder, or murder?’

Rowe denied the charges but was convicted of murder by a jury. She had admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility due to a mental health condition and loss of control.

Her boyfriend, mixed martial arts expert Holder, 37, was also convicted of perverting the course of justice by driving Ms Rowe away from the scene and helping get rid of the knife, which hasn’t been found.

Judge Freya Newberry jailed Rowe for life with a minimum of 22 years, and sentenced Holder, who had previous convictions, to 16 months.

Hundreds of mourners had attended the ‘devoted’ mother’s funeral at Islington and St Pancras Cemetery last October.

Ms Lawler’s grandmother, Sharon John, said in a statement: ‘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.’

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.’

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.’

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