'Controlling and coercive' partner accused of raping and murdering his ex-fiancée at a luxury five-star hotel posted he was 'heartbroken' on Facebook after her death, court hears
Samantha Mickleburgh, 54, was found dead at the Pennyhill Park Hotel in Bagshot, Surrey, on the morning of April 14 last year after sharing the night there with her former partner James Cartwright, 61.
The mother-of-two had ended their relationship two months before, but arranged to stay in a twin room with Cartwright because she 'didn't want him to feel lonely' on his birthday, the jury was told.
Cartwright is alleged to have strangled Ms Mickleburgh with 'his own bare hands' in the early hours of the morning before calling police claiming he found her 'lifeless body lying next to him in bed'.
The father-of-three is accused of raping and murdering Ms Mickleburgh between April 12 and April 14 last year.
He also denies one count of controlling and coercive behaviour between May 1 2022 and April 14 2024.
During his trial at Guildford Crown Court on Friday, prosecutor Louise Oakley read out a Facebook post written by Cartwright the day after Ms Mickleburgh was found dead.
It said: 'I am so heartbroken and devastated at the very sudden and unexpected loss of my gorgeous, kind, caring, and loving partner Samantha during the night of my birthday at Pennyhill Park Hotel in Bagshot, Surrey, after such a wonderful and happy evening.'
He said 'I simply do not have the words' and referred to how his 'extreme grief' was shared by Ms Mickleburgh's close family members.
Cartwright wrote about how family, friends and colleagues, past and present, would all be 'as shocked and sad as I am at her sudden passing'.
He wrote: 'I miss you so much sweetheart and have no idea how I'm going to live without you. You have left such an enormous hole in all our lives.
'Rest in peace my darling. I love you so very much and always will.'
Following their break-up, Cartwright had continued to pursue Ms Mickleburgh, attending her address unexpectedly and uninvited, and 'bombarding her' with messages and calls, Ms Oakley said.
'He had started to lose control of his relationship with Samantha because of his own controlling and coercive ways,' she added.
Earlier this week jurors were told that Cartwright called 999 at about 8.30am on April 14 claiming he had discovered the lifeless body of Ms Mickleburgh lying next to him in bed.
'That was a lie,' Ms Oakley said. 'He had most likely killed her in the early hours of April 14 2024 with his own bare hands applying manual pressure around her neck, extinguishing her life.'
She added: 'There were only two people in this room - and she couldn't have and didn't strangle herself.'
On Friday, jurors also heard that when speaking about the death of Ms Mickleburgh, Cartwright said to a friend: 'She would have been pleased to go full of Taittinger.'
The trial continues.
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