A jury has found that a mother of two was murdered by her ex prisoner partner who then left her body to lie undiscovered for 24 hours.

Lee Kendall, 43, has been standing on trial at Truro Crown Court charged with the murder of 49-year-old Ms Hall at her home in Charlotte Close, Mount Hawke home on May 31 last year, to which he had pleaded not guilty.

However, this morning (Friday), a jury found him guilty of murder, by stabbing her through the eye with a kitchen knife.

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Former Virgin Airways senior air stewardess Michaela had met Kendall when she worked for a charity which helps prisoners when they are freed from custody.

But Truro Crown Court heard she broke professional boundaries as his support worker and began an intimate sexual relationship, before he moved into her home in Mount Hawke.

This subsequently became violent, with Michaela suffering black eyes and calling 999 on a number of occasions.

On May 14, 2021 he was given a three-year community order by a judge and was released from custody and returned to live with Michaela.

But just 17 days later he stabbed her to death, as the knife penetrated up to 9cm into her brain through her right eye, the jury was told.

A post mortem also revealed she had other facial and neck wounds which were consistent with manual strangulation – and Kendall's DNA was found on her neck.

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During the course of the trial Kendall had admitted stabbing her in the eye but claimed it was an accident after an argument about a sweet and sour dinner.

Taking the stand, Kendall told his defence barrister Richard Smith QC, that on the night Michaela died, he had drunk four to five bottles of wine by about 10pm.

Kendall had told the court that they had been arguing over the sweet and sour food that Michaela had prepared for both of them, and she was upset with him when he told her he didn't want to eat it.

He had alleged that they argued and he he overheard her "slagging me off" on the phone to someone.

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He admitted grabbing her around the throat, but claimed she had picked up a knife he had been using as a screwdriver for DIY which he alleged he pushed towards his chest.

Kendall then claimed that he took the knife as they were struggling his hand was "jerked away from her at the same time she is coming towards me and it ended up going in her eye."

He also claimed he did not call emergency services because he put her to bed and thought "she'd be fine."

The court heard that the friend who Michaela had been on the phone to at the time had raised the alarm with police, who went to visit the house on more than one occasion but found nothing of alarm.

Her body was not found until the next day when her parents got a key to enter the house because they were concerned.

The friend said the noise on the phone during the attack was "horrific" and "like something off a horror film."

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Kendall is due to be sentenced this afternoon at 2pm.