Ex-Soldier Stabs Partner to Death in Chilling Attack
A former soldier, Stephen Lawton, 45, has been jailed for at least 16 years and 158 days after brutally murdering his partner, Michelle Egge-Bailey. The shocking attack happened earlier this year at their flat on Airedale Avenue, Cottingley, Bradford.
Drinking Session Spirals Into Deadly Violence
Bradford Crown Court heard how Lawton snapped on March 11 following a drinking session. Michelle, 54, had been drinking prosecco while Lawton drank lager. Judge Jonathan Rose slammed the crime as a “brutal killing of a defenceless and vulnerable woman.”
PTSD and Depression Cited in Court
Lawton’s defence revealed he suffers from PTSD and depression after multiple tours in Northern Ireland, Iraq, and Afghanistan. He also claimed Michelle had insulted him just before the fatal attack, but the court rejected his excuses.
