35 years for Sobo killer Neil Crampton
Nov 26 2008 The Journal
Parents recall a gregarious and outgoing child
THE ill-fated relationship between Neil Crampton and Liz Sobo began in the early 1990s when they met through mutual friends.
At that time he was 20 and working in the bar at the Students Union in Newcastle University.
He left school with no qualifications and would go on to have a number of short-term jobs including taxi driving.
His parents describe their only child as a gregarious and outgoing child who had a love of music and computers and many friends.
After meeting Miss Sobo they set up home together within a year and in 1994 Abigail was born. Seven years later he began to suffer from recurring bouts of depression and anxiety following the death of an aunt.
Crampton moved back into his parents Winlaton home in 2001 during a difficult period in his relationship with his partner, just weeks before son Steven was born in May.
She remained in Kenton with the children but Crampton continued to have unlimited access to his children, who would frequently visit their grandparents in Winlaton.
Both retired, Bill and Ann Crampton would treat Abigail and Steven to days out and Bill would teach music to his granddaughter.
By November 2006 Crampton was unemployed, a drug user and was being treated for depression.
He had become both jealous and paranoid that Miss Sobo was in relationships with other men, although there was no evidence to support his accusations.
He had turned up uninvited and unannounced on a family holiday in Turkey in May 2006, and ruined the trip by accusing Miss Sobo of being with other men.
It was, in fact, Crampton who had been unfaithful, visiting prostitutes while holidaying alone in Thailand in 2005. He also failed to provide financial assistance to his former partner.
He had no previous convictions and was unknown to the police.
Newcastle Crown Court heard last week that the couple slept together just days before the killings, after which Miss Sobo told Crampton their relationship was over.
Then on November 13 he ate dinner with her and the two children at their Kenton home. It was later that night that the argument which sparked the tragedy began.
Page 6: Victim was an 'icon in city nightlife'
