An inquest heard that a dancer was stabbed to death by her ‘jealous’ lover when she attempted to break up with him after they fought over an episode of Love Island.
Maddie Durdant-Hollamby, 22, was brutally stabbed in the chest by her dominating boyfriend Ben Green, 41, when she went to his house to break up with him.
On August 27, last year, he went into a rage and killed ‘lovely’ Maddie three times at the residence on Slate Drive in Kettering, Northamptonshire, according to an inquest.
Mr Green, the marketing director, allegedly turned the knife on himself before cops found his body in a pool of blood inside the kitchen. Despite the attempts of doctors, Maddie was discovered dead upstairs in her bedroom with her phone next to her, and nothing could be done to save the duo.
According to one of Maddie’s pals, the pair previously had a two-day spat over a Love Island episode when she told him she thought one of the competitors was beautiful.
Facts of the sad murder-suicide were related before an inquest at Northampton’s Guildhall today, bringing a senior coroner to grief. The hearing heard how Maddie went to break up with Mr Green in person instead of through text because she believed it was the appropriate thing to do.
But she was brutally murdered just minutes after arriving at the residence, and one of the knife thrusts was so powerful that the blade snapped off in the wound.
Mr Green then walked downstairs and committed suicide. He was discovered with a serious incision in his neck that had cut his jugular vein, as well as self-inflicted injuries on his arms.
Maddie’s pals in Wimblington, Cambridgeshire, described Mr Green as a “jealous guy” who frequently checked Maddie’s phone texts.
Abbie Green, a buddy, said they had argued about her decision to go on a family vacation to Jamaica with her parents, leaving him behind.
She believed he was extremely dominating,’ Abbie remarked. ‘However, he made Maddie happy.’
Maddie went on to tell pals that she wasn’t sure what to do about her boyfriend and that their paths were diverging.
The trio reviewed Maddie’s choices on August 25, the day before her death, and Maddie determined to contact Mr Green after work the next day to end the relationship with him.
She informed the group that he “wouldn’t let her do it by text,” and she thought she obliged him to do it in person.
She texted her coworkers at 3.35 p.m. the next day, stating she is really nervous.
Then, at 5.51 p.m., she requested her pals to call her if they hadn’t heard from her in an hour.
She texted them one minute later with the phrase ‘Love You XX,’ and that was the final message she ever sent.
The group didn’t hear from Maddie again, despite multiple texts and phone calls that evening. Abbie even attempted to contact Mr Green’s phone and left a message at 10.10 p.m. that evening to check on his well-being.
The next morning, August 27, they tried again to reach their buddy but received no response, so they phoned Maddie’s mom, Rachel.
Cops were summoned to the residence in Kettering where he had relocated soon before the death at 1.30pm that day to do a welfare check. They discovered Mr Green in a pool of blood in the kitchen and Maddie upstairs on the bed. Both were declared deceased at the site.
When the inquest heard how Maddie’s death had left her mother distraught, senior coroner for Northamptonshire Anne Pember sobbed.
Rachel Durdant-Hollamby claimed her daughter had grown up loving dance and that the two had many “treasured mother and daughter memories” before the birth of her son Fabian.
The court heard how Maddie adored her newborn brother, even changing his diaper and caring for him as her mom went about her daily chores.
Maddie was tremendously giving and liked nothing better than treating her family and friends, Rachel added in a statement read in court.
It’s as though their lives have been shattered, torn apart. She doesn’t see a path ahead.
There is a great void in their life; The mom wants to be a four-person family again. Her daughter was flawless.
She is doing her best to hold it together for Fabian. She wants his childhood to be as wonderful as Maddie’s.
She felt cheated out of helping Maddie choose her wedding gown, picking out furniture for her home with her, and kissing her baby.
Rachel added that she just misses her. Maddie’s absence has left a significant void in their lives. She was lovely and kind. They need her back. They were the best of friends. She’ll be her best buddy forever. Her heart has been broken.
Maddie first met Mr Green at the marketing agency where her dad, Steve Durdant-Hollamby, worked at Christmas 2019.
Mr Green even stayed with Maddie’s family for five weeks while waiting for his house to be finished, befriending her dad and going on runs with him.
Mother Rachel stated that she had noticed nothing wrong with the relationship and had not witnessed any violent behaviour.
Senior Northamptonshire coroner Anne Pember felt upset when recording a finding of unlawful killing and had to halt.
In her 27 years as coroner, she think this is the saddest case she has ever heard,’ she added.
She can’t understand how one feels after losing their daughter. She deeply regrets their loss.
Following Maddie’s death, a second inquest into Mr Green’s death was held, with the coroner concluding that he committed himself.
He had been married for twelve years and had 3 kids until his marriage ended in 2007.
He had a cordial relationship with his ex-wife, who stated of the fatalities, ‘He wouldn’t hurt a fly.’
Ben is not aggressive, his brother Thomas Green told the court. Before doing anything like that, he believed his brother would have sought out. It comes as a huge surprise.
