A gas explosion likened to a ‘mini earthquake’ ripped through a £1.4million north London home after a man accused of murdering his partner allegedly detonated a gas canister in the basement, a court has heard.
Jurors at Snaresbrook Crown Court were shown images of the devastation left behind at the Stoke Newington property, where floorboards were ripped apart, windows blown out and the roof of a kitchen extension torn away by the blast.
Clifton George, 45, is accused of murdering his partner of ten years, 46-year-old Annabel Rook, daughter of retired Old Bailey judge Peter Rook, before setting fire to trigger the explosion in the early hours of June 17 last year.
George admits to manslaughter and arson but denies murder, claiming he lost control during a row.
Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC told the jury George is believed to have ignited paper on the kitchen hob before carrying it down to the basement, where a propane camping gas canister had been placed directly beneath the living room where Ms Rook’s body lay.
‘The force of the blast lifted the floorboards, shifted the furniture, and caused significant damage to the property and to the house next door,’ he said.
‘It also made an almighty bang.’
Neighbours Rhys Sullivan and Harriet Cosby said they were jolted awake by what sounded like ‘a massive boom’.
Timber was blasted upwards from the floors and debris was strewn across rooms inside the £1.4million property (pictured)
Annabel Rook pictured in an image released by the Metropolitan Police
Jurors at Snaresbrook Crown Court were shown shocking images of the devastation left behind at the Stoke Newington property
Floorboards were ripped apart, windows blown out and the roof of a kitchen extension torn away by the blast
Mr Sullivan described the explosion as feeling ‘like a mini-earthquake which shook the house’, the court heard.
The adjoining property suffered cracked walls, damaged brickwork and shattered bathroom tiles as the explosion tore through the terraced homes on Dumont Road.
Photographs shown to jurors revealed scenes of destruction inside the £1.4million property, with timber blasted upwards from the floors, debris strewn across rooms and sections of the rear extension roof completely blown away.
The court heard George himself suffered burns to his back, which prosecutors say suggests he was walking away from the basement when the gas ignited.
Police and firefighters arrived at around 5am to find George in the kitchen covered in blood. Asked if anyone else was inside, he allegedly replied: ‘My wife’ — before adding she was dead ‘because I killed her’.
He also allegedly told officers: ‘My missus lied to me. I lost it.’
Ms Rook, founder of the social enterprise MamaSuze, had reportedly been planning to separate from George and wanted him to move out of the home.
The court heard tensions had escalated over money and ownership of the house, which Ms Rook had bought before the relationship began.
Clifton George, 45, admits to manslaughter and arson but denies murder, claiming he lost control during a row
Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones KC told the jury George is believed to have ignited paper on the kitchen hob before carrying it down to the basement
Neighbours Rhys Sullivan described the explosion as feeling ‘like a mini-earthquake which shook the house’, the court heard
The adjoining property suffered cracked walls, damaged brickwork and shattered bathroom tiles
Neighbours Rhys Sullivan and Harriet Cosby said they were jolted awake by what sounded like ‘a massive boom’
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George was allegedly demanding the property be sold and that he receive half the proceeds despite having no legal claim to it.
Jurors were also told George was obsessively protective of his ‘posh’ kitchen knives, insisting they be cleaned and arranged in precise size order on a magnetic rack.
Months before her death, Ms Rook recorded details of arguments in the Notes app on her phone, describing how she feared being shouted at if the knives were not cleaned properly.
‘I always take every care to clean them properly so I don’t get shouted at,’ she wrote.
On the night of the killing, prosecutors say George left the room during the argument to fetch the ‘sharpest and biggest’ knife from the rack before stabbing Ms Rook 22 times, including a fatal wound to the heart.
Mr Emlyn Jones KC told jurors: ‘He didn’t keep punching and strangling her, but he left the room to fetch a more effective weapon.
‘He went to fetch one of his knives, and he came back. And then he stabbed Annabel Rook to death.’
The court heard Ms Rook had previously warned friends and family that the separation was ‘going to get messy and it’s going to be horrible’.
George denies murder. The trial continues.
