First photo of Bulwell man found guilty of murdering mum-of-four ex-partner by stabbing her 21 times

A jury took just 30 minutes to find a Bulwell man guilty of murdering his former partner after he stabbed her 21 times in a brutal attack caught on a security camera.
Matthew FarmerMatthew Farmer
Matthew Farmer

Father-of-two Matthew Farmer, pictured, denied a charge of murder, sparking a five-day trial at Nottingham Crown Court.

It was alleged that the 42-year-old attacked Stacey Clay – who he had previously been in a relationship with for 15 years – in the back garden of her home on Andover Road, Bestwood, at around 6am on May 19, last year.

Prosecutor John Cammegh told the court that Farmer had also strangled Ms Clay, who received treatment for her horrific injuries but died weeks later at Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre (QMC) on Wednesday, June 2.

Farmer was found guilty by a jury at Nottingham Crown CourtFarmer was found guilty by a jury at Nottingham Crown Court
Farmer was found guilty by a jury at Nottingham Crown Court

Just an hour before the attack, Ms Clay had made a statement to police, who had been searching for Farmer at his parents’ home in Bulwell.

The jury was shown harrowing CCTV footage of the attack, much of which came from a security camera Ms Clay had installed in the days leading up to her death.

The weapon used by Farmer was a knife he bought just hours earlier at the Tesco Extra store in Bulwell where he was a security guard.

Referring to the footage, Mr Cammegh said: “He (Farmer) is a big man. Stacey is powerless to stop him. All she can do is scream and repeatedly beg him to stop.”

Officers arrived at the scene as the violence was unfolding and it was also captured on police body-cam footage

In “an act of conspicuous courage” one officer leapt on to Farmer’s back, another Tasered him.

As he was being handcuffed, Farmer was heard to say: "I hope she's dead."

“The sheer ferocity with which the defendant attacked Ms Clay in a prolonged knife attack, culminating in strangulation, will leave you in no doubt that he intended to kill her,” said Mr Cammegh.

The court heard this all unfolded after mother-of-four Ms Clay brought an end to their relationship.

In the aftermath of the break-up, Farmer was admitted to Highbury Hospital in Bulwell after overdosing on tablets and alcohol.

He was arrested on suspicion of harassment, sending “revenge porn” and criminal damage, on May 15, but released on bail with the condition not to contact Ms Clay, the next day.

In mitigation it was said by Farmer that he didn’t intend to kill Ms Clay. He in fact turned up at her home with the intent of slashing his wrists in front of her and taking his own life.

Incredibly, he even blamed police for failing to find him before he struck. Farmer claimed he hid under a barbecue at the property the couple once shared while police searched the garden just minutes before the fatal attack.

"If they had done their job properly, none of this would have happened," he told the court.

"The first thing Stacey said to me was: ‘Matt, I am sorry. I love you’. I can't remember anything else. It was as if I was in someone else's body.

"I am sorry for what me and Stacey did to everyone. We are victims. I had no intention to kill. I hate myself. But I have to go on for the sake of everybody else.”

The verdict in the case was returned as the Dispatch went to press. Farmer faces a life sentence when a judge makes a decision today (Friday January 21).