Horrifying moment man admits to shooting dead ex-partner after botched suicide attempt renders him unable to speak
4 January 2023, 20:13 | Updated: 19 September 2023, 14:16
Footage has emerged of the moment a man admits to shooting dead his ex-partner after being rendered unable to speak following a subsequent botched suicide attempt.
Cheryl Gabriel-Hooper, 51, was shot twice in front of her 14-year-old daughter by ex-partner Andrew Hooper as she sat in her Land Rover in 2018 outside her Shropshire home.
Armed with an antique double-barrelled shotgun, Andrew Hooper committed the murder following years of domestic abuse - a crime of which he'd previously been convicted.
With police only able to conduct interviews 10 months after the murder, Hooper can be seen sat in hospital surrounded by the investigating officers.
Forced to use symbols in order to communicate after his injuries rendered him unable to speak, it's revealed the injuries were sustained after he turned the weapon on himself following the murder.
However, the bungled attempt was not successful.
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The newly released footage forms part of forthcoming ITVX documentary A Murder in the Family and depicts the chilling moment Hooper points to the word 'yes' after being asked whether he committed the murder.
Hooper, who fled the scene immediately after pulling the trigger, can be seen in a chair, his face covered with gauze and severely disfigured.
Solemnly pointing to letters and words in response to police questioning, Hooper's admission of guilt saw him sentenced to life with a minimum term of 31 years in prison.
Cheryl's daughter, Georgia, who witnessed the crime, has spent recent years campaigning for a register of domestic abusers following her mum's murder.
Her mother had suffered seven years of abuse at the hands of farmer Andrew Hooper prior to her murder when they lived together on Guild of Monks Farm, near Newport.
Moving out of the family home weeks before her murder in the December of 2017, Cheryl and her daughter found a new home nearby in which to live.
She was then murdered by Hooper six weeks later on January 26, 2018.
A Murder in The Family lands exclusively on ITVX on Thursday 5th January.
