Norwich man sentenced to 23 years for murdering his wife
38-year-old Gemma Cowey was stabbed over 20 times during an argument in June
Last updated 11th Dec 2020
A 49-year-old man has been jailed for 23 years after murdering his wife in Thorpe St Andrew earlier this year.
Michael Cowey, of Dragoon Close in Norwich, appeared at Norwich Crown Court today (Friday 11 December) after pleading guilty to murdering 38-year-old Gemma Cowey at an earlier hearing.
In June this year, Cowey lured his wife to a derelict building in Yarmouth Road and stabbed her 20 times when they began arguing about their relationship before running away.
Emergency services, including the air ambulance, were called to the scene following reports that members of the public had found a woman with serious injuries. Despite treatment, Gemma was pronounced dead at the scene.
A Home Office post mortem examination later established that she died as a result of stab wounds.
Cowey was arrested later that day in Warwickshire and was transported back to Norfolk for questioning. During this time Cowey had made a number of admissions claiming to have been responsible for Gemma’s death.
Cowey was later charged with murder and possession of two knives.
Detective Inspector Lewis Craske from the Norfolk and Suffolk Major Investigation Team (MIT) said: "The murder of Gemma Cowey was a cowardly attack by a man who could no longer control his victim.”
"The investigation into the circumstances of this killing, the relationship with not only Gemma but also past partners established that Cowey was a persistent domestic abuser who has devastated the lives of many women.
"This selfish act has seen a family torn to shreds. I hope that the sentence today brings some closure not only to Gemma’s family but also to those whose lives have been damaged by his actions.”
Speaking after the sentencing, Linda Smith, Gemma’s mother said: "May you now rest in peace Gemma.”
"The sentence handed down to the perpetrator for the brutal murder of our beloved Gemma is what we expected in line with the laws of this country. Albeit, we state as a family that no sentence will ever be enough for what the evil perpetrator did to our Gemma.
"Gemma was stabbed more than 20 times in her neck and back by her estranged husband Michael Cowey also known as Sam Cowey. We have nightmares about the pain and fear she went through in the final minutes of her life”
"On behalf of our family we wish to express our huge thanks and appreciation to everyone that tried to save our Gemma’s life. We can only imagine how utterly shocking it was to find Gemma and see such devastation to a young woman’s body.
"We give special thanks to The Norvic Clinic staff and members of the public that were alerted by Gemma’s screams and who raised the alarm to the emergency services. The first responders, police, ambulance service and the air ambulance team.
"Thank you to the Major Investigation Team and family liaison officers, Lewis Craske, Kim Taylor, Michaela Cunningham and Michael Proctor for all of their hard work which resulted in the guilty plea.
"Thank you to all those who bravely came forward to give statements and information regarding the perpetrators past crimes against women and other crimes. We also give heartfelt thanks to our Victim Support case worker Yvette.
"This announcement is short as we have written victim impact statements which were read out in court and these will be available to the media.
"There is a domestic homicide review taking place to investigate what more could have or should have been done to help Gemma. The lessons learned will identify more services or training needed to be put in place to help save other women’s lives going forward.
"Thank you all.”
Eric Marjoram, Gemma’s father added: "The last six months for our family have been a living nightmare that we never wake up from.
"Going forward, we choose to remember our daughter Gemma for the way she lived, not for how she died. She was beautiful, kind, funny and loving. A young woman with everything to live for. She was our light and now we’re in the dark. We will never recover from her loss, we can only learn to live with it and our lives are now forever tinged with utter sadness and emptiness.
"Sentencing changes nothing about how we feel but, it does mean we have justice for Gemma and, as a family we can begin to move forward.”