A vile killer plotted to murder two of his girlfriend's former love interests moments after strangling her to death. Robert Massey was jailed for life after admitting to murder, two counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article in a public place, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Liverpool Crown Court heard the sickening story of Massey's 24 hour crime rampage after killing his partner, Jacqueline Forest, in cold blood. The pair had been a couple since 2020, with the defendant having spent time living with her in Haydock.
However their relationship took a turn for the worse this year when Massey was served an 18-month community order after assaulting Forest. The defendant was also banned from attending her address for 28 days as part of the punishment for his crimes.
The couple then reconnected after meeting in a park and started spending time together at the victim's house. On August 30 Massey went onto the victim's phone whilst she was in the shower.
He believed he had discovered messages of her being 'unfaithful' with two other men. Massey believed Forrest had cheated on him with Anthony Murphy and Graham Roberts.
The latter of which was even more of a betrayal as he Roberts considered to be his "best friend". The killer later confessed to police that he "saw red" and attacked Ms Forest by strangling her after she got out of the shower.
He then repeatedly hit her before saying: "Was it worth it? Was it worth s***ging them two people?"
After strangling Forest to death, the killer discovered a pregnancy test nearby. Believing his victim was pregnant, Massey stabbed her in the womb with a knife- it was later confirmed she was not.
The defendant then took a green pen and wrote "my best mate" next to the stab wound before scrawling "slag" on one thigh and the word "baby" on the other. He then left the scene of the crime and went into St Helen's town centre where he began to "plan his revenge" on Murphy and Roberts.
He began sending messages to Murphy at 4.30am from his phone, saying in another at 6.15am "I'll come for those you love". Massey then rang Mr Murphy in a phone call which lasted nine minutes.
From 8am onwards, he began messaging his next victim, Roberts, from Forrest's phone pretending to be her. In one, he said: "Don't worry, he won't risk getting nicked again."
Around the same time, Massey began sending messages to Murphy's brother's partner - believing her to be his own girlfriend. He said he had been "f***ing my fiancée and now she's pregnant", adding in another text: "She thought I was out for the night, but I came home early.
"He jumped out of the window, which I'm really impressed with because we are three floors up. Just so you know, Anthony is properly dead now - no one f***s my fiancée."
Massey later chucked Forest's phone in a nearby field. Murphy had met Forest when both Sainsbury's employees and on one occasion "engaged in sexual activity", during which her boyfriend had returned to the address - leading to him clambering out via the balcony in order to remain undetected.
Murphy arrived at the scene at around 8.30am on Wednesday, August 31. Massey had turned on the shower and pretended Ms Forest was in there. His adversary pleaded with him, saying "please don't kill me".
Massey then took him into the bedroom and showed him his murder victim's corpse, telling him "look what you've f***ing caused". He then began attacking him with the same knife, "going for his ears".
The knifeman later admitted to police that he was trying to cut Mr Murphy's ears off and was "intending to throw him out of the window". He was stabbed three times to the back and twice in the neck, but was able to escape to a neighbouring flat for help.
Murphy was rushed to hospital and underwent surgery and survived being discharged after a week. After his brutal attack, Massey then left the scene of his second crime and went off after his victim.
He stopped at a corner shop on the way to buy a knife but the store did not have any for sale, so he bought a pair of scissors instead. Now armed, he headed off to Roberts' workplace in Norris Green to confront his long time friend.
Previously, Roberts had had a "one night stand" with Ms Forest at a time when she and Massey had split up. He had confronted his friend in a phone call around a week previously and was "angry", but had not made any threats.
Massey walked straight into the offices at 6.30pm, half an hour after Mr Roberts had started a night shift - chasing him out of the building while brandishing the scissors. Massey said "I'm gonna kill you if you think you can get away with this" and struck him with the implement out on the street, causing him to drop to the floor.
A witness also heard him say: "I don't care, I'm doing 20 years anyway - I've killed two people already." Roberts managed to disarm the attacker and jumped into a passing car, instructing the driver to take him to a nearby pub.
He had sustained stab wounds to his right arm, chest and behind his right ear. Meanwhile, Massey was arrested while walking down Long Lane "sweating and smelling of drink", with blood on his t-shirt.
After being arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, he replied: "I hope it was two murders. What would you do if your best mate was shagging your Mrs?
"I would have thrown the f***ing c*** out of the window. My best mate s***ged my wife, so I f***ing did them.
"I'm getting done for two, might as well be three."
Massey admitted murder, two counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article in a public place and was jailed for life with a minimum term of 28 years. Sentencing, Judge Brian Cummings KC said: "I express my remorse and condolences for all of the victims in this case and all of those connected to them.
"This was undoubtedly a brutal murder. It was apparent that the victim, I regret to say, must have endured significant mental and physical suffering before she died.
"I accept that there was no premeditation, but I do not consider that to be a particularly significant factor given that the trigger for your murderous attack appears to have been information you gained when scrolling through the victim's mobile phone. That behaviour is an indication of controlling behaviour on your part.
"I accept there is an element of remorse, but your explanations and admissions - full and candid though they were - appear to me to have been accompanied at all times by an air of justification, as if you were in a position that there was nothing else you could have done. What you did, you did by choice."
Merseyside Police's Detective Chief Inspector Allison Woods said following the sentencing: "This was a truly shocking and brutal assault which led to the tragic death of Jacqueline Forest in her own home. Nobody can begin to understand the impact the circumstances and the fact of her sudden death has had on her family and friends.
"Nothing can bring Jacqueline back, but I hope that the prison sentence Massey must now serve will give them a sense of justice and allow them to finally move on with their lives. Merseyside Police continues to do everything it can to tackle all violence against women and girls and we will do everything in our power to support victims, target perpetrators and reduce violence by ensuring victims of domestic abuse feel believed and supported when they report offending to us.
"Domestic abuse is a complex issue and can take many forms. It can be psychological, financial, sexual, emotional and physical and we want to raise awareness of the support that is available to anyone who is or has experienced domestic abuse or has been affected by it so that nobody else has to suffer or silence or go through what they have been through.
"We work closely with local domestic support organisations, local authorities, safeguarding teams and charities to ensure that services and ongoing support are available including access to refuges. We have a number of specialist departments within the police to investigate these crimes, but it’s important that we all work together to support survivors and collectively work to prevent these crimes occurring in the first place by raising awareness."
