David Hoyle, 39, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, who was jailed at Chester Crown Court for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 25 years after he was convicted by a jury of the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Rebecca Bamber, 42, (right) from Widnes, Cheshire. Photo: Cheshire Constabulary/PA
A man brutally murdered his ex-girlfriend just weeks after he was reunited with her via Facebook. David Hoyle, 39, from Bradford, West Yorkshire had been in a relationship 15 years ago with Rebecca Bamber, 42, from Widnes, Cheshire but had lost touch with her until the pair began chatting on the social network in May.
They had met on a number of occasions in both Bradford and Cheshire but the night before mother-of-one Ms Bamber died is believed to have been the first time that Hoyle had visited her address in Mersey Road.
Hoyle, of Idle Road, stayed the night on June 7 but the following morning a neighbour was in his garden when he heard a woman screaming and the sound of a broken glass.
The neighbour then saw Ms Bamber at the downstairs front window of her home, covered in blood and mouthing the words "phone the police".