Hockey coach ‘stabbed wife to death then lied that she killed herself’
A former hockey coach stabbed his wife to death after falling for another woman then claimed she killed herself to try and cash in on her life insurance policy, a court has heard.
Mohamed Samak, 42, denies murdering Joanne Samak, 49, at their home in Droitwich Spa in the early hours of July 1, 2024.
Opening his trial at Worcester Crown Court on Tuesday, prosecutor Harpreet Sandhu KC told the jury that Samak lied to police saying Joanne ‘stabbed herself repeatedly’ before he found her slumped on her bed.
The court heard he also claimed to have given CPR after finding a cut on her chest, but Mr Sandhu said police and paramedics were only called to the scene an hour later and reported no sign of any blood on his hands.
Outlining Samak’s 999 call shortly after 4am in which he was asked if his wife had stabbed herself, Mr Sandhu said: ‘That is not a difficult question. In response to that he said this – “I think so, I think so”.
‘If it really were that Joanne had stabbed herself, it should have been a very clear “yes she did”.’
He told the jury that Samak killed his wife after becoming interested in another woman and experiencing financial difficulties.
The prosecutor said Samak, who was a hockey coach who had previously worked with the under-18 Welsh national team, had ‘kept an eye’ on his status as an alleged beneficiary of Joanne’s life insurance policy and pension.
Mr Sandhu, who added that a post-mortem examination found she had suffered six stab wounds, also accused the defendant of later changing his account ‘to fit the evidence’.
During a police interview, Samak was told neighbours had claimed to have heard screaming at about 3am. He told officers he was awoken by a noise coming from the bathroom at about the same time.
He looked out from his bedroom, saw Joanne holding a knife, screaming and ‘trying to stab herself’, the court was told.
When he tried to help her, he said she went into the bedroom and continued to stab herself before landing on the bed.
He claimed to have waited an hour before calling the emergency services because he was crying and ‘struggling to breathe’.
The court heard that Samak, who moved to the UK after marrying Joanne in 2014, claimed his wife was struggling with her mental health and alcohol at the time of her death.
But friends and family, including her brother, Mark Vale, who gave evidence on Tuesday, denied this and said ‘she was happy’ and ‘loved her work’ as an interior designer.
She was also said to be ‘excited’ about her new business venture and was planning a party and trip to Paris for her upcoming 50th birthday.
Prosecutors said: ‘On the one hand, (there is) a woman who had everything to live for, a woman who had made lots of future plans that decided to take her own life.
‘Alternatively, her husband, who was interested in another woman, had financial concerns and had an eye on what he might get if she died, killed her.’
The trial continues.
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