Love triangle killer who knifed Birmingham-born dad through the heart is jailed for more than six years

Sainz-Stafford was back in the dock today to receive his punishment for killing 35-year-old Mr Siviter - and for stabbing another man in September last year. He was under investigation for that offence when he knifed Mr Siviter to death.

He bowed his head during parts of the hearing, dressed smartly in a light blue shirt and a navy tie as Judge Sylvia de Bertodano informed him of his fate. Family members of both Sainz-Stafford and Mr Siviter filled the public gallery. Three members of the jury also returned to their seats to see the outcome of the case.

The murder trial jury heard that Sainz-Stafford and Hannah Cottrell - Mr Siviter’s ex - had been sharing “flirty” text messages for around a fortnight in the build up to the fateful night of the incident, Thursday, May 1 this year.

Ms Cottrell, who the jury was told had been drinking since before 6pm, paid for a taxi for Sainz-Stafford to go to her house in Lambourn Drive, Bicton Heath, Shrewsbury late at night to meet for the first time.

Her children were upstairs in bed and Glynis Taylor, the mother of her ex Sam Siviter, was in the kitchen.

Mrs Taylor was on good terms with Ms Cottrell, who had one child with Mr Siviter and another from a previous relationship. She would go to the house to help with childcare.

Meanwhile Mr Siviter, who was banned by social services from attending Ms Cottrell’s home after fighting in the street with a man he thought she was seeing, was living with a neighbour in a house which backed onto Ms Cottrell’s. He even built a gate so he could go directly through his back garden to Ms Cottrell’s.

The jury was told that Mr Siviter and Ms Cottrell “liked to wind each other up”, and that the root cause of many of their rows would be when one of them thought the other was seeing someone else.

Sainz-Stafford’s taxi arrived at Lambourn Drive at 11.17pm. He told the driver he was “going to have some fun with a girl”, and he later told police that they kissed.

Mrs Taylor, who was “massively drunk” according to Sainz-Stafford, phoned her son a short time later at 11.42pm in a 21-second call. She made two more calls a minute later which went unanswered.

At 11.47pm, a neighbour in Lambourn Drive phoned an ambulance after Mr Siviter collapsed outside. He had been knifed three times - once in the leg, once in the knee and once through the heart.

He died in the back of an ambulance minutes later at 12.33am on Friday, May 2. The fatal wound was 7cm, and penetrated through his skin, muscle, cartilage and into his heart.

Mr Siviter was born and grew up in the West Midlands and supported West Bromwich Albion. He moved to Shrewsbury as a 13-year-old.

Sainz-Stafford told police that Mr Siviter was banging on the door and punched him multiple times as he sat on the sofa after bursting into the living room.

He said that when he heard the banging on the door, he grabbed a knife from the kitchen and hid it under a cushion on the sofa where he was sitting.

Sainz-Stafford, of Field Crescent, Sundorne, Shrewsbury also said he felt Mr Siviter hit him with a “cold, blunt” object, which the prosecution accepted was a hammer.

He claimed: “I was f***ing terrified,” when he spoke to police.

The prosecution accepted a guilty plea to manslaughter from Sainz-Stafford as they “could not contradict” the theory that Mrs Taylor alerted her son to the presence of another man in his ex’s house, and that Mr Siviter would likely have been the “aggressor”.

Crispin Aylett KC, prosecuting, said that Sainz-Stafford’s actions “fall short of reasonable self defence”.

Phil Bradley KC, mitigating for Sainz-Stafford, said: "He was trying to rationalise what was best to do. It was a foolish decision to take up a weapon.

"He genuinely felt he was attending for nothing more than a potential romantic liaison."

Mr Bradley said Sainz-Stafford, one of five children from a "mixed" family, left school with GCSE's in English, maths and history, before going to college to train in electrical installation and joining the army for 12 months. He also worked as a labourer.

"Despite his shortcomings, Sam was a loving father," Mr Bradley said. "He wanted to get back to his kids. Despite his temper, he was capable of love and he was loved.

"It's a terrible tragedy."

Sainz-Stafford was also being sentenced for stabbing another man with a piece of plastic on September 27 last year. He pleaded guilty to a charge of unlawful wounding yesterday.

The victim in that incident was Kevin Austin - a friend of Mr Siviter. Mr Austin was also friends with Sainz-Stafford, but they fell out in a drunken argument in spring 2024.

They had numerous rows in the intervening period before the stabbing, which took place in the car park of the Charles Darwin pub in Sutton Farm, Shrewsbury.

Mr Austin and his friend were about the leave in their vehicle when Sainz-Stafford confronted Mr Austin.

They got out and Mr Austin had a fight with Sainz-Stafford. CCTV was played in court, which showed punters at the pub rushing towards the fracas to separate the men.

Mr Austin and his friend left the scene. He said: "He's ripped my jumper. D***head."

But Mr Austin's friend pointed out that he had in fact been stabbed to the left side of his torso. They pulled over and Mr Austin collapsed. He was rushed to hospital in an ambulance and was "in and out of consciousness".

The wound turned out not to be life-threatening and Mr Austin was discharged the same night, having had the injury glued.

The judge was shown a piece of plastic which was picked up by a police officer on the scene. It was considered the most likely weapon.

In a victim impact statement, Mr Austin said: "As time has gone on, things have got harder, especially after the death of Sam Siviter by the same person.

"Sam was a friend of mine and did work for me for a short time. It really could have been my funeral. This upsets and scares me."

Mr Austin also said he has felt "intimidated" by comments and "the manner" of members of Sainz-Stafford's family since the incident.

He said he had to have two weeks off work after the attack.

Judge de Bertodano told Sainz-Stafford: “Sam Siviter's death had had an unimaginable impact on those who loved him.

"I've heard a statement made by Glynis Taylor. Her pain at losing her son will never go away.

"She is unable to sleep. She wishes she died rather than Sam. She said it feels like a life sentence.

"We know while he was trouble, he was also respected and loved. He had two little boys.

"Hannah Cottrell made a statement saying how much they will miss their dad. They will continue to do so throughout their lives. They must grow up without a father.

"He had high hopes of getting his life together. That is a chance you have taken away from him and his family. His loss is incalculable.

"When you heard the banging on the back door, there were a number of options open to you.

"One of them was to leave through the front door. Another was to call the police.

"Instead, you went to the kitchen, picked up a knife and sat down with it next to you. You picked it up and stabbed him three times."

She jailed him for a total of six years and two months (five years and two months for manslaughter, and 12 months for unlawful wounding). He will serve half of the time behind bars before being released on licence.