New ITV documentary Murder in the Family reexamines the appalling death of Cheryl Hooper, who was tragically murdered in front of her own daughter.
Georgia Gabriel-Hooper was just 14 years old when she witnessed her mother Cheryl’s death. Estranged stepfather Andrew Hooper shot Cheryl twice after subjecting her to years of abuse and coercive control.
Horrifyingly, Cheryl became one of the women who is killed in the UK every week by a current or former partner.
Here are the disturbing details of Cheryl Hooper’s death, in the words of her beloved family and daughter Georgia.
Who murdered Cheryl Hooper?
On 26 January, 2018, Cheryl Hooper was shot dead outside her house in Newport, Shropshire. She was 51 when she was fatally killed in her car. A neighbour called the ambulance, but paramedics declared her dead at the scene after being unable to save her.
Her estranged husband, Andrew Hooper – aka Jack – shot her with an antique firearm. He took aim twice, shooting her once in the arm, and also in the neck.
Tragically, Cheryl’s daughter Georgia witnessed her mum’s murder. Bravely speaking in the ITV documentary Murder in the Family, she recalls: “He pulled up behind us in the car, so my mum couldn’t go anywhere. I was in the car. She was screaming, shouting ‘Jack, Jack, Jack’.
“She couldn’t get out of the car. I thought he had a spade or a sledgehammer. I didn’t see it was a gun until I got around the car. He was hitting the gun against the car window. He banged the glass, the glass shattered and he shot her. I can’t get it out of my head.
“She’s dead. My mum’s dead.”
After the devastating event, Georgia struggled to come to terms with what happened to her mum. She admits she “quickly withdrew to survive” and “stopped eating, and stopped sleeping”.
However, later she realised she had lived for a reason, saying: “I have a firm belief that there was a reason I wasn’t hurt. There’s a reason why I’m here to be sharing our story. To be trying to save other people’s lives.”
Jack Hooper murdered wife Cheryl
Georgia describes her mum as “incredibly generous, and always trying to do the best for everyone at all times”. Her first marriage to Georgia’s dad didn’t work out, and Cheryl bought Georgia up as a single mum.
But that all changed when Cheryl met local farmer Jack. Georgia explains: “When my mum met Jack, we were looking for stability but I think mum just wanted to be loved. He was so charming. But nobody knew the real Jack.”
Jack, who loved shooting, treated Cheryl well at first – buying her expensive gifts and holidays. However, his personality completely changed after they married.
In fact, Jack was heavily in debt. Cheryl’s mum Rita reveals: “She thought her whole world would be changed for the better. But it didn’t turn out like that. Cheryl tried really hard to make the relationship work. She did everything he wanted her to do.”
Sadly, Jack was a cruel, abusive and controlling husband. When Cheryl left him, he became more controlling and coercive. He threatened to take his own life, and began stalking her. He added a tracker to her car without her knowledge, and began following her.
On the night of her murder, Cheryl and her friend Caroline went to the pub to meet some male friends. Unbeknownst to them, Jack followed them. He accused Cheryl of having an affair, and left.
However, he later followed her home and shot her dead.
How did police catch Jack Hooper after he murdered Cheryl?
Police arrested Jack, who was 45 at the time, just hours after he shot Cheryl dead. A team of armed officers arrived at his farm in the early hours of the morning after Georgia’s witness statement.
Surrounded, Jack shot himself, causing serious injury to his face. It is unclear if he had meant to die by suicide. Jack needed a complicated 23 hour operation involving a team of specialists. Police were not able to interview him for 10 months. He was unable to speak as he was left without a mouth or nose. Even now, he has severe facial injuries that mean he has lost the ability to speak.
Jack, via prepared statement, told police Cheryl’s death was an accident. He said: “I was knocking the driver’s door window of the Range Rover, with the barrel of the gun just to emphasise that I was upset. And I suppose to scare her. Somehow the gun went off. And that’s what broke the glass.
“I realised that both barrels had gone off, and I realised what I’d done. Then I panicked and drove off. I wanted to make her think.”
Where is Jack now?
Jack Hooper is currently in jail where he belongs. In June 2019, a jury found Jack guilty of murdering his wife Cheryl. The judge at Birmingham Crown Court sentenced him to life in prison, with a minimum term of 31 years.
At the time, judge Mark Wall QC told Jack Hooper: “The sentence that I must pass on you is one that you richly deserve – life imprisonment.”
Telling Hooper he had not expressed any remorse or regret after leaving a “horrific aftermath” when he fled the scene, the judge added: “This was not a last-minute decision to kill, but rather a planned execution.”
Following the verdict, Det Insp Mark Bellamy from West Mercia Police said Mrs Hooper had been murdered by her “controlling and jealous husband in a premeditated act of the most savage violence”.
He has made two attempts to appeal his conviction. The Court of Appeal dismissed both.
What do Cheryl Hooper’s family say now?
Georgia was the first witness called in the trial of Jack Hooper. She explains: “As daft as it sounds, it was a privilege to stand there and do that for my mum. I faced him and I wasn’t afraid. He hadn’t broken me. He didn’t get away with killing mum. That was justice.”
She added: “I grew up thinking that domestic abuse is punches and violence – physical violence. So, with Jack, for a long time I didn’t feel there was a distinct problem with his behaviour. His main aim was to make her feel completely worthless. It was power and control.”
Georgia added: “Jack was abusive in many forms – financially, emotionally, mentally. To the point where he thought it was his right to kill her.”
She now campaigns for their to be a register of domestic abuse offenders. Unbeknownst to Cheryl and daughter Georgia, Jack Hooper had already been convicted of previous domestic abuse offences.
Following the verdict, it emerged that Hooper was also given a suspended sentence in 2004 after breaking into his first wife’s home and threatening to kill her.
Meanwhile, Cheryl’s mum and dad, Rita and Tony Gabriel, recall: “I’ll never forget his eyes in court. They were dead. He showed no remorse.”
Murder in the Family on ITV
Murder in the Family relives three shocking British murders as told by those closest to the tragic events, revealing the killers’ motives behind their fatal acts.
From the makers of Netflix‘s most watched documentary, American Murder: The Family Next Door, this brand new three-part series tells the tragic stories of the Fitzgibbons family, Cheryl Hooper and Jennifer Cronin.
The horror of these recent high -profile British murders, where the victim and perpetrator are family, delves into why the murders were committed against their own loved ones and what could possibly lead the murderers to these shocking acts of violence.
In each case, the films piece together the fatal events directly from the victim’s point of view, allowing friends and family to tell their stories. The documentary places the viewer at the centre of the emotional anguish as events unfold.
The exclusive access to unseen archive footage illustrates the life of the victims and their devastating fate. Private text conversations, unseen police body cam footage, never before seen home videos and access to their social media channels all depict and uncover the horrendous crimes.
Each stand alone film shows how in some families’ lives, behind the veil of smiling social media posts and daily texts, a true horror story is brewing. These murders aren’t ‘crimes of passion’ but premeditated acts of control, revenge and abuse, leaving behind a family blown apart.
Shockingly, crimes such as these are exceptionally common in Britain. In the UK, over a quarter of women experience domestic abuse in their lifetime. A woman is killed every week by a current or former partner.
Read more: The death of Jill Dando: Most compelling conspiracy theories 24 years on from her murder
Murder in Mind starts on Thursday, July 13, 2023 at 9pm on ITV1.
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