Fatal Stabbing and Explosion at East London Home
A woman was fatally stabbed by her partner before he caused a gas explosion at their east London residence last summer, a court was told.
Clifton George, 45, faces charges of murdering 46-year-old Annabel Rook during an argument at their Dumont Road home in Stoke Newington on 17 June 2025.
George has admitted to manslaughter but denies the murder charge.
Opening the case on Wednesday, William Emlyn Jones KC, prosecuting, described the stabbing as occurring amid a dispute between the couple.
“In the course of that argument he punched her, he then tried to strangle her, and then he went to the kitchen to get a knife, he came back with the knife and he stabbed her to death.
“He was undoubtedly very angry with her, and we will be at looking at why he was so angry. He lost his temper, and in his rage … he murdered Annabel.”
The court was informed that Rook sustained at least 22 stab wounds, including one through the heart, prior to the explosion.
Emlyn Jones stated that Rook’s body was found following the blast, while George was discovered in the garden, severely bleeding and attempting to stab himself with a piece of broken glass.
During police interviews, George admitted he had "lost it" upon discovering that Rook had "lied to me".
Emlyn Jones told the jury:
“I can tell you at the outset that the defendant does not deny that he stabbed his partner to death. He admits that he killed her.”
The couple were not married but had cohabited for just over ten years.
The prosecutor noted that George’s plea of guilty to manslaughter has not been accepted, and he remains charged with murder. Jurors will need to evaluate the circumstances of the fatal stabbing, including the nature of their relationship, described as "difficult at times."
Regarding the explosion, Emlyn Jones explained that George had opened the valve of a propane gas canister, commonly used for camping and barbecues, in the basement in an attempt to blow up the property.
A fire investigator determined that George had tried to flick the circuit breaker switches in the basement on and off, but if this was intended to create a spark to ignite the gas, it was unsuccessful.
He continued:
“He had left all the gas rings on and lit on the hob – but that also had not been what ignited the gas hissing out of the canister in the basement. In the end, the defendant had simply started a fire in the basement … it was that fire which then caused the gas from the canister to explode.
“The force of the blast lifted the floorboards, shifted the furniture, and caused significant damage to the property and to the house next door. It also made an almighty bang.”
Rhys Sullivan, the couple’s next-door neighbour, recalled a
“massive boom, which felt like a mini-earthquake”and rushed outside with his partner, Harriet Cosby, to investigate.
Cosby found George lying on the kitchen floor, covered in blood and broken glass, while the kitchen extension’s roof had been blown off. The court heard that neighbours shouted for George to leave the house but witnessed him attempting to stab himself in the neck.
Rook was the daughter of retired Old Bailey judge Peter Rook and co-founder of MamaSuze, a London-based social enterprise supporting refugee and migrant women through art and drama workshops and activities.
