London Woman Gets Life for Birthday Party Knife Murder

Hope Rowe, 33, was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 23 years after a jury at Inner London Crown Court found her guilty of murdering Charlotte Lawlor during a children’s birthday party in Stepney Green, east London, on 15 September 2024. Rowe used a kitchen knife that had been cutting the birthday cake to stab the 31-year-old mother in the chest during an argument shortly after 1 a.m., in front of family members and children. Lawlor died within an hour despite paramedics’ efforts. After the attack, Rowe left the scene in a Range Rover driven by her partner, Leigh Holder. Holder, 37, was jailed for 16 months for perverting the course of justice after helping dispose of the weapon, which has not been recovered. Rowe later handed herself in to police but claimed diminished responsibility, an argument rejected by the court.