Jilted lover William Mack who hid in ex-girlfriend Leanne Wall’s loft overnight before murdering gets life
He accused judge who jailed him of ''tearing his life apart'' in astonishing courtroom rant
A KILLER who spied on his victim by hiding in her attic today accused the judge who jailed him for life of "tearing his life apart".
Shameless William Mack snuck into ex-girlfriend Leanne Wall’s home and waited overnight in her loft before murdering her.
Today Mack, 39, ranted at Judge Patrick Field, who ruled Miss Wall's murder was pre-meditated and ordered him to serve a minimum of 16 years.
Standing in the dock Mack said: “I'm sick of sitting here and listening to you rip into me.
“It's all lies. If she didn't want to be with me, why would she buy me two coats for Valentine's Day?”
Referring to his victim’s family he added: “They will tell you I adore my daughter. You've torn my life apart."
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Mack, who had a baby daughter with his ex-partner, confronted tragic Leanne on her landing after spending the night in her attic.
She had no idea Mack was lying in wait at her home in Whitefield, Greater Manchester, after earlier texting him to say: ''Getting a restraining order against you so goodbye”.
During the attack the successful business risk manager was head-butted then throttled with a belt before being dumped on her bed.
Police were called when her brother discovered her body after Mack called her parents.
He was detained after being found wandering on the hard shoulder of the nearby M60 motorway and he admitted: ''I just snapped.”
Loving mum Leanne, 33, split with Mack in the weeks before her death in February last year.
She came home from work and is thought to have spent the evening watching TV before going to be bed – totally unaware of her killer in the attic.
Manchester Crown Court heard Mack was "full of remorse" saying he had only hid in the loft to be "close" to his daughter.
Following his astonishing courtroom rant the judge said: "This is not helping. I was told in submissions you were remorseful, but you do not appear remorseful to me.
"This was a callous, calculated, pre-meditated and planned killing. You convinced yourself quite wrongly this lady had had sex with another man. You were told on a number of occasions that this was not true. But you chose to ignore that advice.
"You chose to continue to be driven by that jealousy and sheer possessiveness and you hatched a plan to wreak revenge. You hid yourself in the loft and awaited her return. I have no doubt that you intended to kill her.
"I reject your assertions that you were in the house because you just wanted to be close to your daughter, and that you just wanted to scare Leanne Wall."
The former couple’s young daughter, who was in the next room when the murder took place, was found unharmed and is now being cared for by her grandparents Brian and Karen.
Mack had originally denied the murder but wept at Manchester Crown Court as he changed his plea to guilty.
The court heard how successful Leanne had met jobless Mack in 2005 and they began a relationship.
Rob Hall, prosecuting, said: ''Family members, friends and neighbours couldn't understand why Leanne Wall found him attractive because it was well known he had been to prison and was still offending."
The couple split at the end of 2015 but last January - a month before the murder - Miss Wall rang 999 saying Mack had threatened to blow the house up by the leaving the gas on.
On the day of her death she had been tearful at work after Mack contacted her parents telling them that he believed she had been unfaithful to him.
Miss Wall returned home at 4:30pm and initially suspected her ex might be in the house as the kettle was still warm - but when she challenged Mack, he texted back: "Everything is locked, how could I get in you weirdo?."
When she woke up the following the morning at 7am to tend to her daughter she found Mack stood in front of her.
In mitigation defence counsel Michael Lavery said if Mack had hid in the loft with the intent to kill, it would have been easier for him to murder the victim in her sleep.
He said: ''He thought she had gone to work when he came down from the attic and lost control when he saw her.''
Police watchdogs the Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating the case.