Man murdered by ex-girlfriend on Christmas Day tragically predicted his own death

TragicLouis Price,who died at the hands of his "manipulative, emotionally volatile, and jealous” ex, predicted “something bad would happen” shortly before his death.

The 31-year-old had suffered horrific abuse by his former girlfriend Kirsty Carless, who was this week jailed for life,of which she must serve a minimum of 25 years, after being found guilty of Louis' murder.

Stafford Crown Court heard how killer Carless, 33, had already been on police bail for strangling Louis the month before she brutally murdered him, in an act "motivated by anger and jealousy and fuelled by cocaine and alcohol".

Father-of-six Louis had been considered by police officers to be “at very high risk of domestic abuse”. Following the strangulation incident on November 11, 2024, Louis had called 999, telling of how Carless had poured bleach over tracksuits worth £400 after putting them in the bin. He'd also said she'd thrown a glass candle holder at him, pulled him down the stairs, and choked him.

In a harrowing witness statement, Louis described how the relationship, which began in 2021, had been “on the whole, abusive”, adding that Carless had stopped him doing things he enjoyed, such as playing football, as well as physically abusing him.

Hauntingly, at a funeral held at the end of November 2024, Louis confided in his friend Demi-Louise Deakin about his on-off relationship with Carless, admitting he was “scared of Kirsty” and feared that “something bad would happen” if he did not leave her. Mere weeks later, he was dead.

It comes after a woman, 20, was found dead on bus with 26 iPhones glued to her body.

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The terrible events that unfolded began on Christmas Eve 2024, an evening which Carless, from Cannock, Staffordshire, spent at the pub drinking double vodka and cokes with a male friend. She then went back to this man's house, where they had sex.

It was at around 1.30 am on Christmas Day that a female friend sent Carless a screenshot of Louis' Tinder profile. Furious, Carless took a taxi back to her house, where she collected a kitchen knife. She then ordered another taxi to Louis' parents' home, where he'd been staying since the abusive relationship ended.

While waiting for this second taxi, Carless called Louis repeatedly, with call records showing she rang him a total of 45 times between 2.15 am and 2.44 am. Once she arrived at his family home, Carless asked the driver to wait outside.

About 20 seconds after Carless let herself into the property with a key, the driver heard a “very loud and prolonged” scream from a man who “sounded scared”.

Disturbing CCTV footage shows Carless running up Louis' front garden path into the house before “stalking” him around the garden. He was later found on the floor of the conservatory, with a single stab wound to the chest.

Less than two minutes after they pulled up, an “anxious and sweating” Carless got back into the taxi and demanded the driver take her back to her parents’ home. It was then that she confessed what she had done, and 999 was called.

Giving evidence to the trial, Carless claimed she had no recollection of stabbing Louis. Stating she was “not a violent person” Carless told the court she'd only gone to Louis' address as she believed he'd taken money from a card she had in her home.

After picking up a knife with the intent to destroy the caravan Louis had been staying in in his parents’ back garden, Carless claimed she'd “panicked” after he was stabbed and fled the scene.

As well as being found unanimously guilty of murder and possessing an offensive weapon in a public place, Carless was also found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm relating to a previous incident, but cleared of intentional strangulation.

For confidential support, call the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Freephone Helpline on 0808 2000 247 or visit womensaid.co.uk If you or your family have lost a friend or family member through fatal domestic abuse, AAFDA (Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse) can offer specialist and expert support and advocacy. For more info visit www.aafda.org.uk

Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com