The grieving daughter of a woman stabbed to death 70 times by her partner in a frenzied, drug-fuelled attack says she has been robbed of a chance to get to know her mum.
Simone Ambler, 49, was found dead following an argument with her partner Donald Payne, 62, on March 29 last year.
Payne stabbed Simone 70 times before calling 999 for an ambulance - telling the operator he had stabbed her 'a couple of times'.
When police and paramedics arrived, they were met with a devastating scene.
Simone was fatally wounded and Payne was sitting in an armchair, his hands, feet and jeans covered in blood. On the arm of the chair lay the knife he had used to kill her.
Mum-of-two Simone was pronounced dead at the scene.
Payne was arrested on suspicion of murder but later pleaded guilty to manslaughter by way of diminished responsibility, Lancashire Live reports.
But as the killer began his life sentence, Simone's daughter Lauren Turner spoke of her sadness she would never spend any more time with her mum.
She said Simone had left her life when she was just 18 months old and she had been raised by her grandparents. Simone was never a part of her childhood but Lauren said she always dreamed of rekindling their relationship.
The mum and daughter were reunited at Lauren's grandmother's funeral, the year before Simone died.
Lauren said she had hoped that would be the beginning of them getting to know each other.
Tragically for Lauren, that opportunity was taken away when on March 29 she learned her mother had been stabbed to death by a man who did not even know of her existence. She said: "I feel empty, knowing that I will never get the chance to repair the relationship with my mum."
At the time of her death, Simone was living with Payne in the ground floor flat on an estate in Blackpool.
Payne, a paranoid drug user, had no idea his partner had two daughters she was no longer in contact with.
Payne was a man who had a troubled start in life. "Domestic violence may well be learned behaviour," his defence barrister Julie Taylor said. After suffering violence at home he was taken into care when one attack left him so badly beaten he was struggling to breathe.
As an adult, Payne continued the cycle of violence and in 1991 was sentenced to eight years in prison for GBH.
It was while he was in prison that he started taking heroin - beginning a cycle of drug abuse which ultimately led to Simone's death.
In the years following his release, Payne was a habitual user of heroin, crack and psychoactive substances. He drank heavily and smoked cannabis.
In 2012, he was sentenced to eight weeks for common assault on his ex-wife. During that attack he was waving a knife, Preston Crown Court heard.
The drugs continued to take their toll on his mental health and in 2019 he was admitted to the Harbour, a mental health hospital on the Fylde Coast.
However his condition deteriorated and by March last year he was hearing voices and suffering delusions that Simone was lacing his food and giving him cigarettes loaded with Spice - or synthetic cannabis - a powerful psychoactive substance which can cause damage to the central nervous system and cause psychotic episodes in users.
Payne always admitted killing Simone but was shocked when he learned of the level of violence he had used against his partner.
Two forensic psychologists assessed him and concluded he was suffering psychosis, brought about by his drug and alcohol misuse. He was also showing signs of early onset dementia.
In court, Julie Taylor, his defence barrister said Payne had become visibly upset when he learned Simone had two estranged daughters who were now grieving for the mum they had never got to know.
He was also upset at the impact on his own family, including his ex-wife who he had remained in touch with and had welcomed Simone into the family.
In a victim impact statement, Lauren said she struggles to sleep and is tormented by the thought of her mum being stabbed multiple times. She suffers anxiety and can not make sense of why her mum was killed.
Judge Simon Medland QC handed Payne a life sentence, saying that although he is now receiving treatment for his mental health condition, there is always a risk he could relapse into drug use in the community. He described spice as a "pernicious substance" which leads users to act in a Jekyll and Hyde manner.
Setting a minimum term of 12 years, he told Payne: "Your responsibility for this offence is high on account of your use of psychoactive drugs and alcohol and your use of the knife to stab Miss Ambler to death.
"Life sentence. You may go down."
Det Ch Insp Jane Webb, of Lancashire Police’s Force Major Investigation Team, said: “This is a truly tragic case where the victim, Simone Ambler, lost her life after a violent assault from Donald Payne.
“Payne admitted lashing out following an argument, with Miss Ambler suffering fatal wounds.
“Payne was initially charged with her murder, but following consultation with the CPS, a guilty plea of manslaughter-diminished responsibility, was accepted by the court.
“My thoughts remain with Miss Ambler’s family, who have been left devastated by her passing. I hope today’s sentencing gives them some closure and allows them, in some way, to move forward."
