Chorley man stabbed his girlfriend to death in her own home

A man from Chorley, Lancashire, has been convicted of murder, following the fatal stabbing of Caroline Gore.

David Liptrot, 56, admitted that he had stabbed his 53-year-old girlfriend, but claimed she had attacked him.

On Sunday 29 October last year, Liptrot was out with Ms Gore in pubs around Leigh and Atherton, the pair argued, and Ms Gore left, travelling back to Wigan to meet a friend.

After spending some time looking for his girlfriend, Liptrot travelled back to her flat in Wigan, entering the flat, shortly after 8pm.

Ms Gore didn’t return to her flat until 11.06pm that night, where Liptrot was lying in wait. Around 15 minutes later, Liptrot left the flat after fatally stabbing her.

In the afternoon of 30 October 2024, Liptrot returned to one of the pubs he had been in the previous night, he told patrons: “I’ve killed Caroline”. He explained that he had stabbed her, and he was sick of being bullied. He later told the landlady: “If there is ever big problems, you get rid of them, you get shut.”

The landlady was concerned about Ms Gore and after receiving no reply from a message, she contacted the police.

At 8.23pm on 30 October 2023, police entered the flat and found Ms Gore in the bathroom, slumped in front of the toilet with her keys on the floor next to her. She had bled to death from stab wounds to her neck, chest and stomach.

A postmortem confirmed that Ms Gore died from multiple stab wounds, which had cut an artery and caused damage to her organs.

Liptrot was arrested later that evening. In his police interview he accepted that he had stabbed his girlfriend. 

He claimed he had gone into the bathroom to calm her down when she attacked him, she then produced the knife which she jabbed towards him. 

He said he couldn’t remember what happened next but acknowledged that he must have stabbed her.

He admitted that he had thrown the clothes he was wearing at the time in the bin at the back of the pub and he had thrown the knife in some bushes.

The knife and clothing were later recovered and blood on the items was linked forensically to Ms Gore.

At court, Liptrot pleaded not guilty to murder, claiming a loss of self-control and denying he intended to cause her serious injury, but admitted manslaughter.

Following a two-week trial at Manchester Crown Court, on 16 July 2024, Liptrot was found guilty of murdering Ms Gore.

He will be sentenced on 16 August 2024.

Ben Collinson, District Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West, said: “This was a vicious, pre-meditated attack on a defenceless woman in her own home.

“David Liptrot is a serial domestic abuser. He had been jailed previously for assaults against Caroline Gore and had served prison sentences, the most recent of which ended in July 2023.

“Despite the current restraining order, he rekindled his relationship with Ms Gore and fatally stabbed her on 29 October 2023.

“The Crown Prosecution Service worked with GMP’s major incident team to to disprove his assertions that Ms Gore was the aggressor.

“My thoughts are with Ms Gore’s family and friends.”