08-07-2025
Mother ‘murdered by former fiancé she took pity on'
'At times she thought it was easier to give in to his pestering than to challenge it,' Ms Oakley said, adding that Ms Mickleburgh told friends and family that she was going to follow through with a promise to spend his 60th birthday at the hotel in Bagshot in April.
'She didn't wish him any ill, but she no longer wanted to live with him and no longer wanted to be in a relationship with him,' Ms Oakley said.
'But part of her also felt bad for him, believing that he had no one else to spend that day with.'
Mr Cartwright is said to have spent the morning of his birthday with his other girlfriend in Devon before Ms Mickleburgh picked him up from the station.
The pair arrived at the hotel at about 5.30pm and had arranged to have dinner in the hotel restaurant.
They are said to have had champagne and cake on the terrace before returning to the room.
CCTV shows Samantha changed clothes, but the prosecutor alleged that Mr Cartwright had spent nearly the entire time in the room communicating with other women, including his other girlfriend.
During the meal Ms Mickleburgh reportedly started to feel unwell with staff said to have noticed her 'falling asleep at the table'.
The pair left, with staff describing Mr Cartwright as 'holding the lady up' as they returned to their bedroom.
The prosecution believes Ms Mickleburgh was likely dead by about 1.30am, as at 1.22am Mr Cartwright started deleting images of her from his phone.
Mr Cartwright, 61, is standing trial at Guildford Crown Court accused of raping and murdering Ms Mickleburgh between April 12 and 14 last year.
He also denies one count of controlling and coercive behaviour between May 1 2022 and April 14 2024.
Mr Cartwright called the emergency services to hotel on the morning of April 14 last year after he 'apparently discovered the cold, lifeless body of his partner, lying on her back next to him'.
The prosecutor said a post mortem examination had revealed bruising to Ms Mickleburgh's forehead, scalp, right jaw, left neck and the bursting of blood vessels under the skin.
A 'blunt impact' to the forehead is said to have been so severe that it fractured her skull.
Tests revealed the presence of Mr Cartwright's semen inside her body, the prosecutor said.
'You will have to consider with great care whether…. she voluntarily engaged in intercourse with him,' the prosecutor said.
Cartwright denies the rape and murder of Ms Mickleburgh and controlling and coercive behaviour. The trial continues.
