Man Jailed For Fleetwood Murder
14 May 2019, 16:07 | Updated: 14 May 2019, 16:11
Stephen Derbyshire attacked and Killed Michael Hart in December last year.
A man has been jailed for a minimum of 20 years for stabbing to death his girlfriend’s former partner.
Stephen Derbyshire (pictured), 34, of Hawthorne Drive, Thornton, was sentenced today (Tuesday) at Preston Crown Court after pleading guilty to murder.
The victim, Michael Hart, 31, was stabbed to death in Fleetwood in the early hours of December 9th last year.
It followed a disagreement at home between Derbyshire and his partner at the time over her alleged contact with Mr Hart, with whom she has two children.
In court today he was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 20 years.
Det Ch Insp Leah Rice, of Lancashire Police, said: “Derbyshire became consumed with jealousy and as a result launched an utterly savage attack on an innocent man, who had no way of defending himself.
“He robbed Mr Hart of the rest of his life and robbed Mr Hart’s two children of their beloved father.
“The last few months have been incredibly difficult for Mr Hart’s family and I hope this sentence brings them some sense of justice. They, and Mr Hart, remain in our thoughts.”
Following the sentence, Mr Hart’s family said: “Derbyshire murdered our beautiful son and grandson, loving brother, uncle and doting partner and caring father, and gave us all a life sentence.
“We will never be the same family, as Michael was the glue that held us together. He was the centre of our world and he will be missed every second of every day for the rest of our lives.
“That monster will never feel what we do because he has no feelings, no remorse, and is made of cowardice and bitterness. We hope he rots in prison – it’s the only place he deserves to be. No amount of years will be enough as this pain is everything.”
