Sales Manager Receives Life Sentence for Wife's Murder During Drug-Fuelled Rage
A sales manager who strangled his wife to death during an eight-hour cocaine and pornography binge, while their two young daughters slept in the family home, has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 17 years and one month.
Disturbing Details of the Night Emerge in Court
Paul Knight, 36, watched what was described as 'extreme, dark and disturbing' pornography on both his own phone and then on his wife Isobella's handset after he had killed her in her bed, Northampton Crown Court heard. The cocaine and porn addict 'exploded in rage and violence' and attacked Mrs Knight as she slept, smothering her with a pillow as he strangled her.
Following the sustained assault, Knight continued to snort cocaine—leaving traces of the drug on his wife's neck—and searched for escort workers before composing a suicide note. He killed the 32-year-old, known affectionately as Izzy, after she had asked him for a divorce twice in the months leading up to her death.
Financial Strain and a Decade-Long Addiction
The court was told that Knight had run up a £14,000 credit card bill and was overdrawn due to his decade-long and 'very heavy' cocaine addiction. Mrs Knight had questioned him about where all the family's money was being spent, telling friends her children would be lucky to ever have a holiday because of their financial woes.
Prosecutor Pavlos Panayi KC revealed that Knight had consumed £360 worth of cocaine, collected from his dealer just three days before the murder. On the night of the killing, a neighbour reported hearing up to two hours of door slamming after Knight returned home from work.
A Timeline of Tragedy Unfolds
Phone analysis presented in court showed that while Mrs Knight was walking the dogs on the evening of June 12 last year, her husband began watching porn on his phone. This continued throughout the night and into the early hours, with occasional gaps. The analysis indicated 'unusual, extreme and much darker and disturbing sexual content'.
Officers believe Mrs Knight was killed sometime after her phone locked at 11.27pm, most likely during a gap in his viewing history between 1.55am and 2.24am on June 13. Knight may have switched to using his wife's phone afterwards because his own device had died and he was waiting for it to recharge.
Suicide Notes and a Botched Attempt
At 5am that morning, Knight deleted a note on his iPhone—later recovered by investigators—in which he claimed his wife 'died peacefully' after he smothered her with a pillow and strangled her. Phone analysis shows this note was written while he was also composing a suicide letter on his handset, a hard copy of which was later left on the hallway table.
In the suicide note, Knight blamed his ten-year drug habit, which he said started at a cider festival, for the family's financial troubles. He referenced his wife twice asking for a divorce and wrote: 'I can't see a way out.' In another note headed 'My Testimony', he added: 'My addiction has overcome sensibility. I'm an evil person, I'm so sorry...My only request is if I can be cremated. You can scatter me in the bin where I belong, or on Hadrian's Wall, far away from here.'
Family's Heartbreaking Victim Impact Statements
In a series of emotional statements read to the court, Mrs Knight's family spoke of their devastation at only discovering how unhappy she had been in the marriage after her death. Her mother, Helena Sharrott, said: 'I wish that she had told me about the problems she was having with him. I would have stepped in and put a stop to it and that way she would still be here.'
She described her 'wacky, funny' daughter who loved Christmas but would 'never have another one'. Mrs Sharrott added: 'I feel a terrible guilt that I was not there to protect my child, my daughter. On the day she died I was doing normal things when just a short distance away she was lying dead.'
Mrs Knight's sister, Georgina Davies, told how she had suffered panic attacks after losing the sister she was 'incredibly close' to and depended on. She said: 'Paul is not the man I believed him to be. He should have loved her, cherished her and protected her, but instead he has taken her life.'
Aftermath and Arrest
Three hours after killing his wife, Knight messaged his mother saying the couple were unwell and asked her to collect their two children. After they left, he made unsuccessful suicide attempts inside the house, causing himself superficial cuts. He then took two knives to his car and drove off, spending two hours driving around Northamptonshire before crashing in a McDonald's car park in Kettering.
An attending police officer spotted blood-stained knives on the passenger seat—later established to be his blood—and a colleague was dispatched to the family home in Burton Latimer, where Mrs Knight's body was discovered. Knight was arrested at the McDonald's and made no comment in interviews.
Sentencing and Judge's Remarks
Sentencing Knight for murder, Judge Adrienne Lucking KC said he had caused 'incalculable suffering'. She stated: 'It's clear you were in the grip of an entrenched drug habit. Isobella had fallen out of love with you. You were both preparing for financial and physical separation.' The judge said Knight had killed his wife in a 'fit of rage while the children were asleep in their bedroom'.
Knight, wearing a blue suit and pink shirt, stood with his eyes closed as the sentence was handed down. He had previously admitted manslaughter but only admitted murder on what was due to be the first day of his trial. The court heard he had no previous convictions.
A Legacy of Loss and a Fundraiser for the Daughters
Following the murder, Georgina Davies set up a fundraiser for Mrs Knight's two daughters, who have effectively lost both parents. The GoFundMe page has so far raised almost £18,000. In a moving tribute at the time of her death, Mrs Knight's mother said: 'She was a loving mother, a treasured daughter, a best friend in sister form, a talented artist, and a great friend.'
The victim's father, Tim Davies, told the Daily Mail that it was only after the murder that the family discovered Mrs Knight had suffered years of 'controlling behaviour and verbal and psychological abuse' from her husband. He said: 'She told him that she wanted to split, and they had come to an agreement on how to handle things for the benefit of the kids. Izzy made it clear that she'd had enough.'
A post-mortem examination found Mrs Knight died from pressure applied to her neck. John Lloyd-Jones, defending, said Knight accepts he 'must have flipped' while under cocaine's influence, maintaining he did not intend to kill his wife and had never been violent before.
