A dog-sitter who stabbed a British Army army veteran to death for letting her white Pomeranian escape has today been jailed for 23 years.
‘Malevolent’ Winter Swan-Miller sought ‘revenge’ on 62-year-old Stuart Crocker by stabbing him 27 times and strangling him with a handbag strap because he let her therapy pet, Oblivion, run away – before it was stolen.
The 37-year-old said she had ‘no choice’ but to kill Mr Crocker and boasted of how she’d been a ‘bad girl’ on TikTok to achieve ‘fame and notoriety’, jurors were told.
The dog-sitter had ‘malign intent’ when attacking Mr Crocker, who suffered PTSD from his time in the Army.
Today a judge condemned the ‘highly manipulative’ Swan-Miller for her ‘merciless’ attack on the veteran, whose body was not found until days after he was killed.
Winter Swan-Miller, 37, (pictured) was found guilty of murder after an 11 week trial at Winchester Crown Court, Hants
She fatally stabbed 62-year-old Stuart Crocker (pictured) 26 times after he let her therapy dog, Oblivion, escape – before her pet was then stolen
The court heard how Swan-Miller told her TikTok followers: ‘I did do what I did and I did it because I had no choice. They took away the only thing in my life that I have got, and that’s my dog Oblivion’. Pictured is her Pomeranian called Oblivion
Opening the trial at Winchester Crown Court, Hampshire, in May, Nicola Shannon KC said Mr Crocker was found dead by paramedics at his home address in Andover, Wilts, on June 28 last year.
The 62-year-old’s body was found lying under a white blanket with the TV playing and a switched on fan placed behind his head which was used to keep his body cool.
Police believed Mr Crocker was stabbed some five days before and his body was ‘surrounded by notes’ which had been written by Swan-Miller.
One note read: ‘Take my fucking dog you whore. This is why I’ve done this haha.
‘How does his death feel haha. You thought I would let you get away with taking me for a fucking mug. Taking my dog, are you real.’
The jurors were also shown a number of TikToks, organised into parts, which were posted on June 23.
In one video, titled ‘Part Two’, Swan-Miller can be heard saying: ‘Taking my dog from me, the only thing in the entire world that I’ve got.
‘I did do what I did and I did it because I had no choice. They took away the only thing in my life that I have got, and that’s my dog Oblivion.’
The prosecutor said Swan-Miller hoped for ‘some degree of fame and notoriety for what she had done’.
After going on the run to Birmingham, the dog-sitter was eventually arrested on June 30 and Swan-Miller remained in custody ever since.
Yesterday, after a 12 week trial, a jury unanimously found Swan-Miller guilty of murder.
Swan-Miller (pictured) was sentenced to 23 years in prison and ordered her to pay £228 in costs
Swan-Miller (pictured) said she had ‘no choice’ but to kill Mr Crocker and boasted of how she’d been a ‘bad girl’ on TikTok to achieve ‘fame and notoriety’, jurors were told
At her sentencing today, Ms Shannon KC said Swan-Miller had an ‘intended desire for revenge’ regarding ‘the treatment of her dog’.
The prosecutor added: ‘Significantly, there has been no indication of remorse or acceptance of responsibility after the killing and indeed, multiple instances where Ms Swan Miller seems to find it amusing.
‘The behaviour toward Mr Crocker was controlling and coercive.
‘This is indicatory of Ms Swan Miller’s culpability in the sense that she had a long-term desire to harm.
‘This was not something that came to her in the spur of the moment. There was a malign intent towards Mr Crocker.’
The prosecutor said there was a ‘deprivation of dignity’ in the way in which Mr Crocker was killed and said Swan-Miller intended to ‘scare, harm and humiliate’ him.
The court heard a statement from Joseph Kingswell, Mr Crocker’s son, who said his father suffered PTSD from serving in the Army during the Northern Ireland troubles.
‘The day you walked into my father’s life was the day you brought away whatever sanctity and innocence was left in [his] mind,’ he said.
‘You came into his life under a false pretence and left with your hands bloody, with the blood of my father.’
The son described Swan-Miller as a ‘malevolent entity’ and said his children are ‘no longer able to feel the warmth of [their grandfathers] love’.
He added: ‘My family has been splintered. I wasn’t even able to say goodbye to him.’
Mitigating on behalf Swan-Miller, Gurdeep Garcha KC said: ‘She has listened to the victim impact statements being read to the court and she has been able to hear the impact of Mr Crocker’s death on his loved ones.
‘She has heard the sentence expressed and will have to come to terms with what she has done.’
He added: ‘You know that she was 36 at the time, she is 37 now, it will be a very lengthy sentence. It’s one that she deserves, but it shouldn’t be that long.’
Mr Crocker was found dead by paramedics at his home address in Andover, Wilts, on June 28 last year. Pictured: Police at the scene last year
Sentencing Swan-Miller, The Recorder of Winchester Judge Morris said: ‘[Mr Crocker] was someone who previously had dependency issues with both alcohol and drugs caused by his PTSD that he suffered from his time in the Army.
‘Having heard the evidence in this case, I am satisfied that your relationship with Stuart Crocker was anything but exclusive and that you came and went from his presence as you pleased.’
The judge said the relationship was ‘more of a convenience to you than anything born out of coercion from him’.
‘If there was any level of control and coercion, that came much more from you to hum than the other way around,’ she added.
On the Pomeranian, the judge said: ‘You had a fixation on Stuart Crocker being responsible for allowing your dog escape his flat.
‘Your attack on him at an element of revenge in it.’
On the attack, she said: ‘It was orchestrated in a forceful and aggressive way against a defenceless man.’
Judge Morris said Swan-Miller was a ‘highly manipulative person’ and her actions were ‘merciless and remorseless’.
She added: ‘If fame and notoriety was your goal then by killing Stuart Crocker in the appalling manner you did, you succeeded in achieving it for all the wrong reasons.’
The judge sentenced her to 23 years in prison and ordered her to pay £228 in costs.
The 399 days Swan-Miller has already served will be deducted from her sentence.