Pregnant woman stabbed 60 times in Manchester; partner denies murder

Amber O'Brien, 33, was found dead on a bathroom floor in Blackley after being stabbed more than 60 times. Partner Stephan Garner has pleaded guilty to manslaughter but denies murder.

Manchester murder trial: pregnant woman stabbed over 60 times by partner, court hears

A pregnant woman was stabbed more than 60 times in the face and neck by her partner during a row at a flat in Blackley, north Manchester, Manchester Crown Court heard on Monday.

Amber O'Brien, 33, was found naked and cold to the touch, covered in blue tarpaulin and lying in pools of water on the bathroom floor of the eighth-floor flat she shared with Stephan Garner, 31 — the father of her nine-week-old unborn twins. The case was reported by The Sun.

Nigel Power KC, opening for the prosecution, told the jury: "She had been stabbed repeatedly in the neck and face. The pathologist recorded more than 60 separate stab, incised and puncture wounds, 32 of them to her face and neck."

Cover-up alleged after the killing

Power told the court that Garner spent approximately a day and a half after the killing attempting to conceal evidence. He stripped and washed O'Brien's body, bleached the flat, bagged up her bloodstained clothing, destroyed her phone and disposed of his own. Garner reportedly told a relative he had been "cleaning up" the bathroom, having purchased bleach and scouring sponges from Poundland.

Police forced their way into the flat at around 6pm the following day, after Garner allegedly told his cousin that he had "stabbed her in the neck twice."

Garner has pleaded guilty to O'Brien's manslaughter on 18 April but denies murdering her.

A relationship marked by conflict

The pair had been together for around three months before O'Brien's death, the court heard. O'Brien had told her brother that she and Garner "argued a lot over silly things" and that she was "unhappy about his mood swings." There was also described a "running dispute" over O'Brien's flat in Middleton — Garner had wanted her to move in with him, but she reportedly felt "pressured" to do so.

In the early hours of the day she died, O'Brien called her brother and said: "I can't stand him, I'm not staying here." She left the flat but later returned with Garner.

Victim had sought to end pregnancy and reported domestic abuse

A recording played to the court captured a call O'Brien made on 15 April, in which she requested a termination of her pregnancy. During that call she told the operator she was experiencing domestic violence and had reported it to police.

The following day, she spoke to a nurse at St Mary's Hospital and repeated the allegation. Power told jurors: "She told the nurse Garner regularly used cocaine, drank alcohol and had mental health concerns. She said she had not seen him for a month and had no intention of going back. She told the nurse that it was awful and that if she went back he would kill her."

O'Brien was referred to an independent domestic violence adviser, and a termination date was set for Thursday 22 April.

The day before her death, O'Brien attended a hospital consultation where a nurse heard her crying. She had not known she was carrying twins and was surprised, Power said, but still wanted the termination as it was "the right decision" and she "did not want any links" to Garner. A nurse completed a Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Honour-based Violence (DASH) form with O'Brien, who described an incident in which Garner had tried to lock her in a room and used physical force.

Jurors also heard that between July 2019 and January 2026, O'Brien had made nine separate complaints to police of assaults by ex-partners and associates, as well as one complaint of rape. None of those complaints resulted in a prosecution.

Defence: cocaine use triggered confrontation

Garner told the court he and O'Brien entered a whirlwind romance after meeting in January, but that he began having "second thoughts" after witnessing what he described as her heavy drug use. He claimed she was "reliant" on cocaine and consumed it every other day, sometimes daily, by both snorting and smoking it.

"It made her erratic, she would get very irate over small things and become aggressive. I asked her to stop and she didn't like that," Garner said. He told the court he "lost control" and killed O'Brien following repeated arguments about her alleged cocaine use during the pregnancy.

Garner denied ever being physically abusive towards O'Brien and said she was "very quick to complain" if anything upset her.

Power acknowledged that tensions in the relationship were "not all one way" — an audio recording captured O'Brien making threats towards Garner — but argued her behaviour "doesn't come anywhere close" to justifying his actions.

The trial continues.

Source: The Sun