Man jailed for murder of former partner in Warrington
Michele Kennedy died after being stabbed
Last updated 2nd Apr 2026
A man who murdered his former partner in Warrington has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 15 years.
Gavin Shaw, 61, stabbed Michele Kennedy, 55, at a property on Manchester Road in Woolston at around 4pm on Monday 13 October 2025.
Michele was found outside the address and was rushed by air ambulance to Aintree Hospital, but she passed away a few days later.
Shaw was arrested at the scene and subsequently charged with murder, which he pleaded guilty to.
Detective Inspector Eleanor Atkinson, who led the investigation, said:
"We knew it was very serious from the very beginning. One of the first pieces of information that was passed to the police was that Michele was collapsed in the street on Manchester Road outside her house.
"On the arrival of officers and paramedics, it became apparent that she was very poorly. One of the first things I was told was that the air ambulance doctors were actually performing surgery at the roadside - full credit to their skills, they really did everything they could to save Michele's life, as did the medical teams at Aintree.
"He just had a really calm demeanor"
"Sadly, after a few days of some really intensive surgery and treatment, her injuries were just too serious and she did pass away.
"At the scene, there were a number of members of the public who had seen something happening. I'm not sure they quite knew what had happened until they stopped, but to their absolute credit, they stopped, pulled over, and went to help Michele and some of them also recognised that Gavin Shaw was still there, as the offender, and kept a close eye on him until officers arrived and they also secured the knife that had been used.
"Gavin was arrested within minutes of officers arriving, thanks to members of the public pointing him out, and he just had a really calm demeanor, a calm reaction, made some admissions straight away and some comment straight away to the officers, so in terms of evidence gathering, it was very clear straight away who had committed the offence and then we just needed to piece together exactly how it happened."
Shaw pleaded guilty to murder at Liverpool Crown in February and was sentenced today (2 April).
DI Atkinson added:
"He's never given us a full account - in interview, he chose not to answer most of the questions and because we've not been to trial, we've never heard his evidence, so we don't know for sure, but what we do know is that they separated as a couple a few months before this happened and we know that Michele and her mum had been on holiday in Turkey a few weeks before this happened and on that holiday, Michele had met somebody and they had formed a new relationship which had carried on when they came back to the UK.
"My belief is that the motive will be jealousy about her moving on with somebody new"
"By all means, a very pleasant relationship - it was in its early stages, but really blossoming and she was really happy about it. We know from some of the witnesses, and some of the text messages on Gavin's phone, that he had become aware of that relationship in the days before the murder.
"We don't know for certain, but we can assume from that that it was certainly on his mind that she had entered into that new relationship and from that, my belief is that the motive will be jealousy about her moving on with somebody new."
After Michele's death, her family paid tribute:
"Michele was a much-loved daughter, mother, sister, auntie and nana.
"She was a larger-than-life character who would leave a lasting impression on all that met her, who would help anyone, was beautiful, strong, fearless and one of a kind.
"The loss of her life has left a massive hole in our family, and we know that her friends and colleagues who were involved in her life will feel the same.
"We would like to offer our extended thanks to all the emergency services that attended the scene and any kind person that tried to help. We will miss her very much."