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| Matalan murders: Andrew Saunders jailed for life for killing couple | Matalan murders: Andrew Saunders jailed for life for killing couple |
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| Andrew Saunders has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering Matalan workers Zoe Morgan and Lee Simmons in September last year. | Andrew Saunders has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering Matalan workers Zoe Morgan and Lee Simmons in September last year. |
| Saunders, 21, has been sentenced to a minimum term of 23 years and four months at Cardiff Crown Court for stabbing his ex-girlfriend and her new partner to death outside a store in Cardiff as they arrived for work. He had admitted to the murders at a hearing in December. | |
| Saunders used two knives to attack 21-year-old Morgan and her 33-year-old partner on the morning of 28 September outside Matalan’s store on Queen Street, stabbing them to death. | |
| They were discovered two hours before the shop was due to open at 8am, with eight stab wounds each. | |
| In the days leading up to the killings Saunders was discovered to have bought knives and latex gloves, and to have conducted Google searches relating to murder, including “the easiest way to kill a person,” “how long do murderers serve in prison” and “how to slice a neck”. | |
| Saunders had been in a relationship with Miss Morgan for around a year between June 2014 and July 2015, the court heard, before getting back together a year later but not telling their families. | |
| Miss Morgan met Mr Simmons while working at Matalan in 2016 and they began dating in July. | |
| When she told Saunders their relationship was over, he responded by accusing her of cheating and vowing to “kill whoever it is”. | |
| Saunders later sent Miss Morgan a photograph of the back of her house. He told her he had contacted Mr Simmons on Facebook and threatened to kill him, saying he would “smash his f****** head in”. | |
| On the morning of the double murder, Saunders was seen near the phone boxes near Matalan at 5:30am, the court heard. He ambushed Miss Morgan who was due to start a shift at 6:00am and Mr Simmons, who was not working but had accompanied Miss Morgan to the store. | |
| Saunders used two weapons to stab Mr Simmons. At first he removed an eight-inch knife from his back and attacked the man, before switching to a 10-inch knife when the weapon appeared to break. | |
| When Miss Morgan attempted to pull Saunders off of Mr Simmons, he told her “I’m coming for you next.” | |
| Screaming, she ran down Queen Street and was attacked near Boots, where Saunders stabbed her with the second knife. | |
| The court heard that Miss Morgan suffered a total of 32 injuries and Mr Simmons 14 injuries in the attack. | |
| After leaving the scene, Saunders called his mother at 5:58 am for 11 minutes and returned home in his car minutes afterwards. | |
| He then texted his father, saying: “Thanks for being a pathetic, useless father. Just killed two people. Cheers.” | |
| Mrs Justice Nicola Davies told Saunders: "In a sustained and brutal attack you ended these lives. | |
| "You took away the futures of Lee Simmons and Zoe Morgan. | |
| "You robbed the families of Lee Simmons and Zoe Morgan of a much loved son and a much loved daughter. | |
| "The effect on each family has been devastating." | |
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