Minutes af ter killing partner, ex-cage f ighter stabs samaritan
BRANDISHING a l arge knife, this is the terrifying moment a cage f i ghter chases a good samaritan down the street – minutes after killing his girlfriend in cold blood.
Career cri minal Andrew Wadsworth stabbed Melissa Belshaw, 32, to death in front of her 13-year- old daughter two months after being freed from prison on licence.
The 37-year- old then attacked Gerard Bristow, a neighbour who had heard Miss Belshaw’s screams and tried to intervene.
Yesterday, as Wadsworth was jailed for life, police released shocking CCTV of the former professional martial arts fighter, armed with a k ni f e , c hasi ng bare - f o o t e d Mr Bristow down the road.
The killer, high on cocaine and alcohol, grappled Mr Bristow to the ground and repeatedly stabbed him. The 46-year-old suffered serious injuries, including a punctured lung. Wadsworth admitted killing beautician Miss Belshaw at her terraced home in Billinge, near Wigan, on May 20. But he denied murder, saying he snapped and lost control after hearing ‘ shock’ revelations about her sex life.
However, a jury at Manchester Crown Court dismissed his account and convicted him of Miss Belshaw’s murder a nd t he attempted murder of Mr Bristow.
Sentencing Wadsworth to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 32 years, Mrs Justice Amanda Yip said he had tried to assassinate Miss Belshaw’s character to shift the blame for what he had done. One claim was that she was working as an escort.
The judge said: ‘She was still only young and was seeking to turn her life around. Sadly, she made a fatal mistake in becoming involved with you and you took her future away.’
Jurors heard that Wadsworth, who had served two lengthy jail terms for robbery involving imitation firearms, aggravated burglary and grievous bodily harm with intent, was released on licence in November 2017 and started seeing Miss Belshaw four months later.
He was recalled to prison for cocaine use in January this year, before being freed again in March.
Prosecutor Tim Storrie said the couple had ‘a volatile relationship which was dependent on their mutual interest in drink, drugs and sex’. On the day of the killing, Wadsworth had interrogated Miss Belshaw about her sex life but was dissatisfied with her answers.
After her terrified daughter tried to call police, he allegedly held a knife to her throat.
Following the sentencing, Miss Belshaw’s family said they had found the trial ‘extremely traumatic’.
They said: ‘The defence continually tried to destroy her memory and showed a total lack of sympathy or sensitivity towards the family.’
Wadsworth, of Wigan, was cleared of making a threat to kill against Miss Belshaw’s daughter, who cannot be named for legal reasons.