Police had received 14 reports involving Christina Alexander and her husband in the years before he murdered her in a sustained attack at their Tamworth home.
Robert Alexander, 66, murdered his 60-year-old wife after a history of domestic abuse which included strangling her, putting her in a headlock and threatening violence.
Christina, a nurse, was stabbed 78 times during the fatal attack in June 2025.
Alexander was subsequently convicted of murder following a 14-day trial at Stafford Crown Court and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 20 years.
Previous violence and police reports
In 2020, Alexander put Christina in a headlock, strangled her and bit her cheek. He also threatened to kill a neighbour who intervened.
He was convicted of battery following that incident and received a community order.
The following year, Christina called 999 after Alexander picked up an iron bar and waved it at her during an argument about DIY.
She told police she was living under the constant threat of violence from her husband.
Alexander was not charged over that incident because of what was described as a lack of evidence. He was instead made subject to a domestic violence protection order.
Warwickshire Police later told the Daily Mirror there had been 14 reports involving the couple between September 2020 and May 2025, the majority of which were made by Christina.
The force said it had not made a referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct and that a domestic abuse-related death review was ongoing.
The final police visit to the couple’s home came around a month before Christina’s murder, after Alexander had harmed himself in what was described as an attempt to manipulate and control his wife.
‘I’ll probably be dead before then’
By 2025, Christina had begun taking steps to leave the relationship, including consulting a solicitor and making financial arrangements to live independently.
The Crown Prosecution Service said dashcam footage from her car captured Christina telling her sister: “I’ll probably be dead before then.”
Judge Avik Mukherjee said the evidence demonstrated Alexander knew his wife was planning to leave him.
The judge found that the murder took place against a background of controlling and coercive behaviour, particularly surrounding finances.
Christina was subjected to what the judge described as a “repeated and sustained” assault.
He told Alexander: “Such was the ferocity and force of the attack that she succumbed to very serious injuries within a short period.”
After killing his wife, Alexander told officers: “I’ve disposed of my wife.”
Jurors unanimously convicted him of murder after hearing Christina suffered catastrophic injuries to her face, neck, body, arms and legs.
‘She just wanted to help people’
In a victim personal statement, Christina’s brother Neil described his sister as someone who had spent her life helping others.
He said: “Tina was somebody who, throughout her life, just wanted to help people. From a young age, she wanted to follow in our mother’s footsteps and become a nurse.
“We have been trying our hardest to remember all the happy memories of my sister. She was always there for all her brothers and sisters.”
Women’s Aid said the case demonstrated the potentially fatal consequences of domestic abuse and called for greater resources, training and effective risk management across policing and the wider criminal justice system.
