An "insanely jealous" jilted boyfriend - enraged his his ex's new Facebook lover - was caged for nine years today after plunging a seven-inch kitchen knife through the mum-of-two's heart, killing her in front of their two year-old toddler.
Builder Paul Fender, 44,(pictured) of The Parade, Greatstone, New Romney, Kent killed 28 year-old Karren Martin after she smirked and told him: "Yeah. So what. I am seeing someone."
He was acquitted of murder by a Croydon Crown Court jury on grounds of provocation, but was convicted of the manslaughter of Miss Martin who died almost instantly at her rented bungalow in Hardy Road, New Romney (pic.below) on November 20, last year.
The couple's two- year old daughter Lilly was in the lounge when her father killed her mother. Miss Martin also has an 11 year-old son Callum from a previous relationship.
The victim began a sexual relationship with an old schoolfriend she met again via Facebook a few weeks before her death - telling friends this was the man of her dreams.
Fender confessed to police he did go around to her house to confront her about the new boyfriend and flew into a rage when she confirmed it was true.
"You had become obsessed by her and insanely jealous of anyone with her," the Recorder of Croydon Warwick McKinnon told Fender.
"You killed her because you could not accept she was with someone other then you and when she admitted she was sleeping with someone else and laughed you reached for that knife and plunged it into her.
"You gave her no chance, you had become self-obsessed and were obsessed by her," added the Judge.
"It had to be all or nothing and in the end you made the determination it would be nothing and have left a trail of suffering in your wake.
"This was a dreadful killing of a woman in her home and I regard such provocation to be minimal," the Judge told Fender. "You killed her with toddler Lilly, aged two watching on.
"You have deprived little Lilly of her mother as you have with her son Callum. You gave her no chance, there was no struggle."
The defendant told detectives: "I just wanted all the pain to go away, I'd had enough, I just thought she'd be injured. I was shaking in anger. It was jealousy after she told me she was seeing this bloke."
The couple endured a troubled relationship between 2005 and 2007, ending when Miss Martin moved out three months after the birth of their daughter in November.
She had to leave her new boyfriend's house the night before she died so Fender would not spot her car absent from the drive.
In the early hours happy Miss Martin's final Facebook entry read: "Yippydee doo daa, yippydee day. My oh my, what a wonderful day."
The same morning Fender was buying building materials with a workmate and told the colleague "he was burning up inside."
After the stabbing Fender called 999 and sat outside the bungalow hugging Lilly in the back of his car as ambulancemen battled in vain to save Karren.
He also later told police: "Let this be a lesson to you. Don't love someone too much."
Fender's QC Richard Barraclough said of the first-time offender: "There is immediate and genuine remourse that continues to this day.
"The defendant lost self-control as a result of what Karren Martin said and the jury found the loss of control was reasonable in the circumstances."
Judge McKinnon added: "No sentence can bring Karren Martin back. She's tragically gone long before her time was due."
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