DALE CROOK JAILED FOR MURDER IN STAFFORD

A man has been sentenced to prison for the murder of his wife. Dale Crook was sentenced at Stafford Crown Court on Friday after previously admitting to killing 28-year-old Milica Zilic. Her body was discovered at the couple's flat on Wolverhampton Road, Stafford, on 27 November 2023, following police attendance shortly before 13:30 GMT. Crook, aged 34, had been taken to hospital two days earlier after a family member raised concerns about his wellbeing. He was arrested after the body of Ms. Zilic was found. During the investigation, a knife was recovered from the flat, and a post-mortem confirmed that Ms. Zilic died from a stab wound to the chest. In court, Crook was sentenced to 11 years and nine months in prison. Her mother, Elijana, paid tribute to her daughter, saying, 'My soul aches and everything inside me is falling apart. Pain and sadness are destroying me from the inside.' She expressed her grief, stating she would 'hug the cold stone with her name' and frequently wondered why Crook took her life. "I look at her picture in the silence of the apartment and it seems to me that she will speak, move her lips, smile at me, but only my breathing and sobs are heard," she added. Elijana also recalled how her daughter 'rushed to be born,' along with her laughter, first steps, and first words. She shared her anguish, saying, 'The words that I didn’t tell her hurt. It hurts that I won’t be able to hug her anymore, to smell her scent. It hurts that she could still love, work, laugh, cry, rejoice, suffer. The emptiness hurts.'