Jealous killer stabbed his love rival to death and left the body for his secret lover to find

A BOYFRIEND was stabbed more than 70 times by his girlfriend’s secret lover and his corpse was then left for her to discover.

Aaron Swift, 33, killed Nick Williams, 26 after Elizabeth Carrigan, 24, told him their affair was over.

Swift then left his victim’s body in the living room for Miss Carrigan to discover.

Swift was jailed for just nine-and-a-half years at Leeds Crown Court after pleading guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of loss of control.

Days before the killing, which took place on December 16 last year, in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, Miss

Carrigan had told Swift their tryst was over as she planned to start a family with Mr Williams.

Swift then traced the couple’s address and drove to the property from his home in South Yorkshire.

He arrived at the house, told Mr Williams that he had been seeing Miss Carrigan behind his back and began his brutal attack.

CCTV footage showed Swift approaching the property and knocking on the door before being allowed inside.

Prosecutor Jonathan Sharp told a jury how Swift carried out the killing soon after entering.

He said: “Aaron Swift had the advantage of surprise. He inflicted no fewer than 72 wounds to Nick. Most of them were to his neck.

“Those wounds cut in to his jugular vein. He bled profusely.”

Swift took Mr Williams mobile and moved the landline so he was left helpless. He also overturned furniture and the Christmas tree to make it look like there had been a struggle.

Miss Carrigan found her partner’s body the next morning after returning from work, with blood covering the living room.

She said: “I was in absolute shock and could not think straight.

“When Aaron rang me it was a quick conversation and he was stuttering on the phone, telling me to go to my family and that I needed my dad and that he would contact me later.”

Swift destroyed his mobile phone and tried to arrange an alibi when it became clear police wanted to talk to him.

Initially, he claimed he acted in self-defence after Mr Williams attacked him.

However, Mr Justice Edis told Swift he had acted with “calculated dishonesty” and said: “In truth you are so self-obsessed that nothing mattered to you last December but to break the bond of your victim and his partner.

“This was a killing done with intent to kill and with savagery. It was done in fear but also in anger caused by sexual possessiveness.

“The circumstances in which violence began was arranged by you and not the victim. It is therefore a very serious cause of manslaughter.

“You knew at all times what you did was not reasonable self-defence.”

A victim statement was read out on behalf of Mr Williams’ mother, Kathleen Hurst, who said: “My world has collapsed. I feel I have lost a part of me that will never return.

“Why someone would want to take Nick away from me I do not know.

“He was planning to start a family with Lizzie, his girlfriend. I was looking forward to becoming a grandmother.”

Detective Inspector Andrew Welbourn of the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team welcomed the sentence and thanked everyone who had responded to police appeals.

He said: “We welcome the sentencing of Aaron Swift today for the brutal crime which resulted in the death of a well-liked and decent man.

“Swift carried out a truly ferocious assault, inflicting multiple stab wounds from which Nicholas had virtually no chance of survival.”