A headteacher has admitted he murdered his estranged wife and her new boyfriend in a house on New Year’s Day.

Rhys Hancock, 40, was charged with murder after Helen Hancock, 39, and Martin Griffiths, 48, were stabbed to death at his former marital home in Duffield, Derbyshire. Officers had been called to the property on New Zealand Lane at 4.11am on January 1 this year.

They arrived at the house to find Mr Griffiths already dead and Mrs Hancock, a teacher, gravely injured. Paramedics battled for 15 minutes to save her life, but she died at the scene. She shared three children with Hancock, all of whom had been staying with a grandparent that night.

Hancock, formerly of Portland Street in Etwall, Derbyshire, was arrested at the house, having called the police himself. Today he pleaded guilty to the murders at Derby Crown Court. He will be sentenced at a later date.

In a statement issued by police in January, the family of Mrs Hancock said they were ‘devastated’ at the loss of ‘Helen, who was a lovely, beautiful, friendly, bubbly and social person’.

Neighbours of the family said she had been ‘finally getting her life back together’ after ending her relationship with Hancock. She met Mr Griffiths her running club and they had been dating for six months at the time of their murders.

A friend of Mrs Hancock told the Mail Online: ‘She was a lovely girl, just lovely. The marriage was on and off. She’d feel vulnerable being alone and take him back in. Helen tried many times to make a life without him, but she always forgave him. Then last year she plucked up the courage to kick him out for good.’

Father-of-two Mr Griffiths was also described by family as a ‘lovely dad, husband, son, brother and uncle, who had a passion for adventure, running and a love of animals’.

His family said in a statement: ‘He enjoyed travelling the world, mountain climbing and spending time with his two children. He will be greatly missed.’

They added: ‘He enjoyed travelling the world, mountain climbing and spending time with his two children. He will be greatly missed.’

Derbyshire Police referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) due to contact between Mrs Hancock and its officers before her murder. It is understood she called them over the Christmas period.

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