Terrifying moment: stepfather admits to shooting wife with shotgun in front of daughter

This is the chilling moment a stepfather confessed to shooting his wife in front of their teenage daughter – by pointing to the word ‘yes’ after being unable to speak due to a botched suicide bid.

Cheryl Gabriel-Hooper, 51, was shot dead twice with a double-barreled shotgun by her ex-partner Andrew Hooper while she was in her car after years of domestic violence.

Her then 14-year-old daughter Georgia was standing in front of the Land Rover Evoque when she witnessed her stepfather shoot her mother with an antique gun in January 2018.

Hooper fled the scene, pointing the shotgun at himself after the attack. His face remains severely disfigured and he can no longer speak. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum sentence of 31 years.

Now never-before-seen footage has emerged showing him in hospital admitting to the murder by pointing his trembling finger at the word ‘yes’ on a plaque when asked in a police interview if he was guilty of death responsible to his wife.

Never-before-seen footage of police interviewing Andrew Hooper at the hospital has surfaced

Cheryl Gabriel-Hooper, 51, was shot dead twice with a double-barreled shotgun by her ex-partner Andrew Hooper

In the clip, which is part of a new ITVX documentary A Murder in the Family, a police officer says the investigation has been an “emotional rollercoaster ride for 18 months full of unexpected turns”.

It was 10 months later by the time police were able to interview Hooper – he had no mouth or nose and the interview was described as “extraordinary”.

Georgia’s stepfather, Andrew Hooper, had previously been convicted of domestic violence offenses before he met her mother. But Cheryl never knew that when the relationship started.

Speaking to MailOnline back in December 2020, Georgia said: “I wish there could have been a domestic violence registry when my mother was alive.

“My stepfather had a history of domestic violence before he even met my mother. So if there had been a registry, it could have prevented her from dating him.”

Hooper points to the word “yes” during a police interview when asked if he is responsible for Cheryl’s death

Cheryl Hooper with her daughter Georgia, who was 14 when she witnessed the shooting

“A registry would save lives because it would potentially deter someone from entering into a relationship with an abusive partner,” Georgia added at the time. “Many abusers become serial offenders, attacking any woman they date. It’s rarely an isolated incident, so we need this register to keep the women safe.

“Something has to be done. We have a sex offender registry, so why don’t we have a domestic violence registry?’

Cheryl, who had been abused by the “cowardly” farmer for seven years, had moved out of their shared home at Guild of Monks Farm near Newport, Shropshire in December 2017 and moved to another house in town with Georgia .
Six weeks later, on January 26, 2018, she was murdered.

Police said the investigation has been an “emotional rollercoaster ride for 18 months full of unexpected turns”.

Andrew Hooper, found guilty of the murder of his estranged wife, Cheryl Hooper, at Birmingham Crown Court

Georgia and her mother had just parked in the driveway of their new home when Hooper, who had previously confronted Cheryl at a pub after attaching a tracking device to her car, pulled his truck up behind them.

“My mom said, ‘Oh my god, he’s here,'” Georgia previously shared.

Knowing instinctively that something didn’t feel right, the 14-year-old student got out of the car.

“But when I got to the front of the car, he had shot through the car window to break it and then he shot my mother again,” she said.

“I tried to find a pulse or get a reaction from her but there was nothing.

“I never thought he would kill her. I never thought he would make it this far.”

A Murder in The Family is out exclusively on ITVX on Thursday 5th January.

If you are affected by the issues in this story, Women’s Aid offers a toll-free support hotline: 01708 765200