Overview

• Clifton George, 44, appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court charged with murdering his partner, Annabel Rook, and with arson with intent to endanger life.
• Police were called before 5am on June 17 after a gas explosion at Rook’s Dumont Road home in Stoke Newington, where firefighters discovered her with multiple stab wounds.
• Prosecutors told the court that a preliminary post-mortem determined Rook’s cause of death was her knife wounds.
• Two children aged seven and nine were taken to hospital as a precaution after the blast but were not believed to be inside the house when it occurred.
• Rook co-founded the charity MamaSuze CIC to support refugee and migrant women, and her loss has prompted tributes from colleagues and community members.