Ex-lover admits to murder
Killer Jason Patterson was relaxed and laughing when he was caught on CCTV chatting up a barmaid – just hours after he had stabbed the loving mother of his children to death, a court heard today.
He was seen on camera "smiling, jovial and nonchalant" as he asked the worker at The Golden Lion in Wednesfield if she would like to go out to dinner with him.
Prosecutors suggested the 28-year-old was looking at the camera and trying to establish an alibi.
The court was told Patterson had earlier stabbed Miss Ratcliffe once in the chest.
Her body was found in the front room of her house in Holloway Street, Stow Heath, with the murder weapon in her hand.
Warehouse supervisor Patterson, said to have had a history of violence against the victim, could have placed the knife in her hand before leaving with the children, who had been eating pizza in another room, it was said.
Patterson's mother phoned police after her son confessed to her and he was arrested.
He later told police the pair had rowed over the paternity of one of the children.
"I didn't want to harm her," he said.
"I just wanted her to stop provoking me and jeering. Something clicked."
Miss Ratcliffe was described in court as a loving mother who cared deeply about her children.
The court also heard she had struggled with a drink problem.
Mr Anthony Barker QC, prosecuting, told the court: "The defendant, on the evidence available, had been a jealous and possessive man.
"There was anxiety in the family about the way she was being treated by the defendant.
"He was showing very great hostility to another man she had struck up a relationship with."
He said Patterson "would not let go" after they had split up and had formed the attitude: 'If I can't have you, no one will'.
Mr David Crigman QC, defending Patterson, disputed many of the prosecution's claims as "unfair and speculative".
But he added: "He grieves for the children, that he has left them without a mother."
