She Organized a Birthday Party for Ex-Fiancé So He Wouldn't Be 'Lonely.' Then He Killed Her — Now He Learns His Fate By Sean Neumann

A British man has been sentenced to life in prison for raping and killing his ex-fiancé after a birthday dinner she arranged for him in an effort to make sure he wasn’t “lonely.”

James Cartwright was sentenced Friday morning, per the BBC. Cartwright, 61, was found guilty last week of raping and fatally strangling Samantha Mickleburgh, his 54-year-old ex-fiance, in April 2024.

At his sentencing, Mickleburgh’s family members described Cartwright as an “evil, controlling, manipulative predator,” according to the outlet.

The Crown Prosecution Service said Mickleburgh had “found their relationship suffocating” and asked Cartwright to move out of her house after breaking up with him weeks before the murder. 

“She said despite Cartwright moving out of her house a few weeks earlier, he had not accepted that the relationship was over, despite him moving in with a new partner,” the CPS said in a news release.

The Telegraph reported that during the murder trial, prosecutors said Mickleburgh had described Cartwright’s behavior to friends as “insecure,” “clingy,” “child-like” and “suffocating,” leading her to break off their relationship and ask him to move out.

However, PEOPLE previously reported that Mickleburgh, a widower, still decided to stick with plans to celebrate Cartwright’s 60th birthday, fearing that he would be “lonely.” Mickleburgh booked a hotel room for her and her ex-fiance — with two twin beds — at the Pennyhill Park hotel in Bagshot, Surrey, and planned a six-course tasting menu at the hotel restaurant.

Wait staff noticed Mickleburgh “looked more and more sleepy and at points her eyes were closed and she looked like she was sleeping” throughout the dinner that night, prosecutors claimed according to The Times. The couple abruptly left before finishing the meal and went back up to their hotel room, according to the outlet, which was the last time Mickleburgh was seen alive.

The next morning, Cartwright called emergency services to the room and claimed he woke up to find Mickleburgh dead, alleging she had fallen from the bed and hit her nose, according to the CPS. When questioned by police, Cartwright claimed he and his ex-fiance had consensual sex before going to sleep, The Times reported.

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But investigators didn’t buy it.

“It was clear from the forensic evidence that Samantha had been murdered,” CPS prosecutor Moses Koroma said. “She was strangled and had a significant head injury, and the jury saw straight through Cartwright’s claims that this had all resulted from her falling out of bed.”

At Cartwright’s sentencing Friday, some of Mickleburgh’s family members were allowed the chance to address the convicted murderer, per the BBC.

“Our family welcomed you into homes and hearts and you violated that trust and kindness,” Mickleburgh’s sister Tracey Carter reportedly told Cartwright. “Did you feel proud of yourself when you lied to my father, saying that Sam had died in her sleep knowing full well the horror that you had put her through?”

“You have caused an indescribable amount of pain and suffering to our family,” Carter continued. “But know this: We are strong and you cannot break us, you cannot take Sam from us.”

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.