23 years for the jealous ex who murdered Matalan lovers outside store
A SPURNED man who murdered his ex-girlfriend and her new lover as they arrived at the Matalan store where they worked has been jailed for a minimum of 23 years and four months. Andrew Saunders repeatedly stabbed Zoe Morgan, 21, and Lee Simmons, 33, after ambushing them outside the shop just before 6am.
The 6ft 3in hotel receptionist, who weighed 20 stone and had played American football for Great Britain, plotted the double killing after becoming jealous of their relationship. Saunders, 21, had searched online for ‘16 steps to kill someone and not get caught’ but was arrested within an hour of the attack in Cardiff city centre.
He previously admitted two charges of murder and was yesterday jailed for life. The families of both his victims said outside court they were ‘ bitterly disappointed’ with the length of the sentence he must serve before he can apply for parole.
Shop assistant Mr Simmons and window dresser Miss Morgan had been going out for less than four months after striking up a romance at work.
Mrs Justice Nicola Davies told Saunders: ‘ In a sustained and brutal attack, you took away the futures of Zoe Morgan and Lee Simmons.
‘ Without warning, you approached Lee Simmons from behind, grabbed him and stabbed him in the back.
‘The first knife, the smaller of the two, appeared to break in your attack. You then used the second larger knife on him and subsequently Zoe. For Zoe the terror of the attack on her would have been exacerbated by what she saw you doing to Lee, her attempt to pull you away and your chasing of her.’
Miss Morgan had broken up with ‘very controlling’ Saunders after he accused her of cheating. He sent her a message saying: ‘You’re definitely chatting to
‘I will kill whoever it is’
someone else. I will kill whoever it is.’ He watched videos called ‘Ten people who got revenge on cheaters’ and ‘How to slit someone’s neck’ as he prepared to murder the couple.
As well as his online search for ‘16 steps to kill someone and not get caught’, he looked up ‘How long do murderers get in prison?’. He confronted the couple holding an 8in knife after lying in wait for them to arrive at the Queen Street store on September 28 last year.
Mr Simmons, who was walking Miss Morgan to work on his day off, was stabbed in the chest and was heard shouting ‘Stop, stop, stop’. Miss Morgan tried to pull Saunders away but he turned to her and said: ‘I’m coming to you next bitch.’
CCTV footage showed her desperately running to a Boots store where Saunders caught her and stabbed her with a 10in knife while she lay on the floor.
Both victims were stabbed eight times each but the judge said Mr Simmons had a total of 40 injuries and Miss Morgan 32.
After the killings, Saunders phoned his mother before driving to his family’s £1million home in Castleton, near Cardiff, at 6.10am. At 6.17am he texted his father: ‘ Thanks for being a pathetic, useless father. Just killed two people. Cheers.’
A psychiatrist concluded Saunders was depressed at the time, but the judge said whatever his mental state it was a senseless attack with a significant degree of planning.
Cardiff Crown Court heard Saunders, from Castleton, could not cope with being dumped and had intended to take his own life after the murders.
As he was led to the cells yesterday he said ‘Sorry’ to the families in the public gallery.
Miss Morgan’s family said later: ‘Words will never express the disappointment we feel at the leniency of the sentence. We’re heartbroken and will miss our beautiful, intelligent girl for the rest of our lives.’
Mr Simmons’s family added: ‘No punishment will ever compensate for the loss of Lee’s life.’