TikTok killer who stabbed man 27 times over missing dog jailed for 23 years

Woman, 37, said to be a ‘manipulative, merciless fame and notoriety-seeker’ murdered Army veteran, 62, in rage over her Pomeranian

A TikTok fan who stabbed a British Army veteran to death for letting her white Pomeranian pet out continues to find the murder “amusing”, a court heard as she was 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, escape.
After murdering the grandfather, the 37-year-old took to TikTok and addressed thieves saying “taking my dog from me, the only thing in the entire world that I’ve got”, and boasted of how she had been a “bad girl”.
She had “malign intent” when attacking Mr Crocker, who suffered post-traumatic stress disorder from his time in the Army, and on Tuesday a judge condemned the “highly manipulative” individual for her ”merciless” attack.
“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,” Judge Angela Morris said.
Opening the trial at Winchester Crown Court, Hants, in May, Nicola Shannon KC said Mr Crocker was found dead by paramedics at his home in Andover, Wilts, on June 28 last year.
His body was found under a white blanket with the TV playing and a switched-on fan placed behind his head.
Police believed Mr Crocker was stabbed some five days before and his body was “surrounded by notes” written by Swan-Miller.
One note read: “Take my f—–g 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 f—–g mug. Taking my dog, are you real.”
Jurors were also shown a number of TikTok videos, 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, she was eventually arrested on June 30 and remained in custody ever since.
This week, after a 12-week trial, a jury unanimously found Swan-Miller guilty of murder.
At her sentencing on Tuesday, Ms Shannon 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 Swan-Miller seems to find it amusing.
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 dad suffered PTSD from serving in the Army during the Northern Ireland Troubles.
The son described Swan-Miller as a “malevolent entity” and said his children are “no longer able to feel the warmth of [their grandfather’s] love”.
He added: “My family has been splintered. I wasn’t even able to say goodbye to him.”
Gurdeep Garcha KC, mitigating, said: “She has heard the sentence expressed and will have to come to terms with what she has done.”
Sentencing Swan-Miller, 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 him 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 to escape his flat. Your attack on him had 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”.
The judge sentenced her to 23 years in prison.