A ‘controlling monster’ who callously raped and murdered his ex-fiancee at a five-star luxury hotel might have gone unpunished had it not been for the medical expertise of her surgeon stepfather, it has been revealed.
Samantha Mickleburgh, 54, was found dead in a twin room at the exclusive Pennyhill Park Hotel in Bagshot, Surrey, on the morning of April 14 last year.
The mother-of-two’s former partner James Cartwright, 61, was unanimously convicted last month of killing her during their stay at the hotel – and has today been jailed for at least 28 years.
According to the estate agent’s version of events, Ms Mickleburgh agreed to meet Cartwright for dinner on his 60th birthday and to stay in his room because she ‘didn’t want him to feel lonely’.
He then claimed finding her dead in bed beside him the following morning.
Detectives and paramedics found she had sustained a fractured skull, but Cartwright claimed she had likely fallen out of bed and police initially believed the injury was not suspicious.
However, consultant podiatric surgeon Stephen Strain personally spoke to the coroner after he heard about his stepdaughter’s injuries, The Telegraph reported.
His medical knowledge led him to believe there might have been foul play and demanded the postmortem was hastened, instead of waiting the specified 10 days in case any damning evidence was lost.
Mr Strain’s instinct paid dividends after strangulation marks were discovered around Ms Mickleburgh’s neck, while her larynx had been crushed, prompting Surrey Police to open a murder investigation.
Five days later, Harrow-educated Cartwright was arrested on suspicion of murder. He was later charged with rape, murder and coercive control.
The surgeon, who lives in Dorset with Ms Mickleburgh’s mother, Penelope, now believes his stepdaughter was subjected to a violent attack in which she was held by her hair while her head was smashed against the floor by Cartwright.
Ms Mickleburgh’s devastated parents have revealed how they had not liked Cartwright’s ‘demeanour’ and described him as ‘pompous’, but had accepted the relationship for their daughter’s sake.
‘We clearly clashed but Sam said she thought he was quite kind and gentle and to put up with him for her.’
Father-of-three Cartwright, who had been married three times previously, was working as an estate agent in Axminster, Devon, by the time he met Ms Mickleburg through a dating app in 2022.
Research shows he had previously tried his hand at a range of occupations, including as a pub landlord, district councillor, school governor and an IT consultant.
By contrast, Ms Mickleburgh had built a successful career in business, holding director roles for BP, British Airways and Thomson Reuters.
Mrs Strain also detailed how she had enjoyed a close relationship with her daughter and had been ‘incredibly’ impacted by her death.
‘Every day you wake up and it is the first thing you think about and the last thing you remember at night,’ she said.
Today Cartwright was sentenced for the ‘vicious and murderous’ attack.
Sentencing him today, Mr Justice Murray told him: ‘Collectively (Ms Mickleburgh’s family) described Samantha’s wonderful qualities as a daughter, as a mother and as a sister – caring, thoughtful, fun, well-organised, generous to a fault and devoted to her family.
‘Samantha’s family suffer a grief that those who have not experienced it cannot imagine. It lies beyond words to fully describe.’
Six members of Ms Mickleburgh’s family gave victim impact statements in which they warmly remembered their loved one and addressed Cartwright over his attack.
Tracey Carter, one of Ms Mickleburgh’s sisters, said: ‘Our family welcomed you into our homes and hearts and you violated that trust and kindness.
‘You spent Christmas and other special occasions with (the family). I will never understand why you thought you had the right to do the horrific things that you did to Sam.’
‘I wish she had never met you,’ Ms Carter continued.
‘Did you feel proud of yourself when you lied to my father, saying that Sam had died in her sleep knowing full well the horror that you had put her through?
‘Do you take some kind of sadistic enjoyment in your lies? You have caused an indescribable amount of pain and suffering to our family but know this: we are strong and you cannot break us, you cannot take Sam from us.
‘We now know that you have a history of controlling behaviour towards women that you have relationships with. We know you would stalk Sam and this made her fear for her safety. I hope you are never free to harm anyone again.
‘I believe you are a monster – an evil, controlling, manipulative predator who really thought you were clever enough to get away with murder, my sister’s murder.’
Her other sister, Karen Bishop, called Cartwright a ‘vile, narcissistic man’.
Ms Mickleburgh’s daughter Jessica told the court how she had just had a little girl, and thought she had ‘won the lottery in life’ when she lost her mother.
‘The bonds between mothers, daughters and granddaughters is strong and special,’ she said.
‘James Cartwright severed those bonds with his own bare hands. He killed my mum, he stole my comfort, he took my safety and my stability, he extinguished the powerful light in my life.
‘He destroyed what should have been the most joyous year of my life and replaced that joy with trauma and unanswered questions, and I dare say if I hadn’t had my daughter he would have ended two lives that day.’
She branded him a ‘coward’ who ‘has shown no acceptance, no accountability or remorse’.
She said she hoped her mum was looking down on them somewhere ‘in a pair of Jimmy Choos with a glass of bubbly’.
Ms Mickleburgh’s mother, Penelope Strain, called her daughter her ‘soulmate’ who ‘could light up a room with her personality just by walking in’.
In her statement, read out by the prosecutor, she said to Cartwright: ‘I have sat through this trial and listened to all your lies.
‘This was my daughter who you were supposed to love and could not live without. Now we as a family have to do just that – live to rest of our lives without her.
‘You showed no respect for Sam sitting in that room with her, texting other women, sussing out your next victim.’
Her husband and Ms Mickleburgh’s father, Stephen Strain, said in the witness box that the last time he had to give a similar speech was at his younger brother’s funeral, when Ms Mickleburgh came to stand beside him when he struggled to speak.
‘I miss her so much,’ he said, holding back tears. ‘There is a big hole in my heart that gets bigger as time goes by. I thought it would get better in time but it doesn’t. I know that this is the new normal but it is unnatural, Sam should have outlived me.
‘Sam was my champagne girl and I miss her so much. I always will.’
On July 31, Cartwright was found guilty of murder and rape at Guilford Crown Court, but the jury acquitted him of controlling or coercive behaviour.
During the trial, jurors were told that Cartwright had lent Ms Mickleburgh tens of thousands of pounds to help renovate a property she had bought in early 2023.
He claimed she owed him around £100,000 at the time of her death.
The pair lived together and got engaged later that year, with Cartwright proposing on a beach during a holiday.
He told the court the proposal was met with ‘an immediate and emphatic yes’ and described their relationship at the time as ‘extremely amicable and friendly and loving’.
But the relationship began to break down when Cartwright discovered ‘highly sexual’ messages from Ms Mickleburgh’s former partner on her phone and later on her laptop.
On October 2, he confronted her and admitted standing in front of her car to stop her leaving their home following an argument.
‘She got into her car. It was clear that she was going to drive away,’ he told the court.
‘I pulled (the gate) to prevent the car from leaving.
‘She chose to drive through the gate and onto the road, so I had to put myself in front of the car to stop her leaving, because the gate hadn’t worked.’
Cartwright said he was embarrassed by his behaviour and later apologised.
Although the pair continued to live together until February 2024 and remained physically intimate, he said he no longer trusted her.
Around two weeks before moving out, he found further messages between Ms Mickleburgh and her ex-partner but chose not to confront her.
Instead, he said he asked if they had been in touch, and she denied it – something he described as ‘almost terminal on my part’.
Following their separation, Cartwright began speaking to other women on the dating app Bumble and told one that the upcoming dinner with his ex had ‘the feel of a final farewell’.
Another message described it as ‘the last goodbye’.
Cartwright said he had not yet met the women in person and was only seeking ‘companionship’ and ‘friendship’.
The defendant, of no fixed address, told the court he had been married and divorced three times and had three adult daughters.
James Pettitt, guest relations manager at Pennyhill Park Hotel, previously told jurors he and the ambulance crew found Cartwright ‘completely naked’ and screaming in a ‘loud and exaggerated’ way when they entered the room.
Ms Mickleburgh was lying on the bed face up, and had dry blood around her nose, Mr Pettitt told the court.
Samantha’s family paid emotional tribute, saying in a statement: ‘We as a family, are relieved that this has finally come to an end.
‘That the defendant has been seen for who he truly is, a rapist and a murderer. No longer free to harm or control any more women.
‘Unfortunately, it was too late for our beloved daughter, mother, sister and friend. She truly was the best of us, the kindest light in all our lives and the hole left behind is one of such severe magnitude we will likely never escape it.
‘Justice will not bring her back, but it has provided a form of closure on this dark chapter and security in the knowledge that James Cartwright will remain in the safest place for everyone.
‘Samantha wouldn’t want to be known as a victim. She would want to be known for her passion for life, her class and beautiful style, her honesty, integrity, strength and dedication to all who knew her.
‘We continue to ask for privacy as we navigate what it means to live in a world without Samantha and her incredible personality and love.’
