A former international hockey player-turned-coach who claimed his wife stabbed herself to death has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years for her murder.

Mohamed Samak, 43, claimed he woke up at around 3am on 1 July to see his wife, 49-year-old Joanne Samak, stabbing herself at their home in Chestnut Spinney, Droitwich Spa.

Ms Samak, an interior designer, suffered six stab wounds to the chest and abdomen, ranging between 2.5cm and 10cm deep.

Medical experts told Worcester Crown Court during Samak’s trial that considerable force was needed to penetrate her breastbone, making it highly unlikely she could have stabbed herself.

Samak, a former Egyptian international hockey player and coach who worked with the Wales under-18s team, claimed his wife had alcohol and mental health problems, but her friends denied this.

Prosecutors said Samak killed his wife, who was the main breadwinner while he struggled to find a permanent job, because he was suffering financial problems and had become interested in another woman.

Samak was found guilty in a retrial on Wednesday after a jury in his first trial, held earlier this year, failed to reach a verdict, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

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