A man who brutally murdered his estranged wife at her home has been jailed for a minimum of 23 years.
Aubrey Pule Padi, 46, killed Tamara Padi in a 'planned and carefully executed attack' while one of their two young children slept in the next bedroom, a court heard.
Mr Padi 'lay in wait' for his wife to return home - even setting an alarm on his phone so he could take a nap and 'ensure that your wife would be asleep before you attacked her,' a judge said as he passed a life sentence today.
Mrs Padi, 43, was described as a 'lovely, bubbly, outgoing, professional woman.' She worked as a carer and was out on a late-night care visit on the night of July 7.
Manchester Crown Court heard that Mrs Padi returned to her Stalybridge home at 1.30am with a colleague and they both went to sleep.
Mr Padi had 'concealed himself' in her home after letting himself in. He was armed with knives and a hammer, and carried gloves and a length of cord, the court was told.
After his alarm went off a 3.30am, Mr Padi 'set about' his wife with a metal 'pull up exercise bar,' the court head.
Aubrey Pule Padi, 46, killed Tamara Padi (pictured) in a 'planned and carefully executed attack' while one of their two young children slept in the next bedroom, a court heard
He then left her bedroom but returned to stab her eight times with one of the two kitchen knives he had brought with him.
Mrs Padi was later pronounced dead in hospital after her colleague found her seriously injured.
The court heard that the couple's daughter had 'mercifully' slept through the brutal attack.
Mrs Padi's family watched on as her husband pleaded guilty to one count of murder.
Mr Padi sobbed and looked away from his children as judge Elizabeth Nicholls passed sentence on Tuesday.
The court heard that the couple separated in early 2021 after 14 years of marriage and 'several years together' before that.
The relationship is said to have broken down and divorce proceedings were 'imminent'.
Richard Pratt QC, prosecuting, said on July 6 - the day before her murder - Mr Padi had punched Mrs Padi in the face when she wouldn't let him use her mobile phone in her car.
Two weeks earlier, she had caught him going through voicemails on her phone.
And she had earlier described, in voicemail messages intercepted by police, his conduct towards her as 'creepy' - adding that he was 'driving her away'.
Aubrey Pule Padi, 46, (pictured) pleaded guilty to the murder of his wife and was sentenced to a minimum of 23 years in jail
On the night, after the punch, he sent her 'apologetic and threatening' text messages' - with one ending: 'This is the last time you have disrespected me.'
Sentencing, Judge Nicholls said of the murder: 'In that moment the defendant effectively deprived their children of both parents, one through death, the other by the annihilation of trust in their father, who up until that moment they believed they knew and loved.'
Judge Nicholls said Mrs Padi was scared of him. 'You waited in the
