Stafford man has been jailed for murder

A man has been jailed for the murder of his wife.

Dale Crook, 34, from Stafford, was sentenced to 11 years and nine months imprisonment at Stafford Crown Court today (Friday 29 November) after he admitted the murder of his wife at their Stafford home in November 2023.

wenty-eight-year-old Milica Zilic’s body was found in their flat on Wolverhampton Road after we were called to the address at 1.20pm on Monday 27 November 2023. Sadly, Milica was pronounced dead by paramedics a short time later.

On 25 November 2023, a family member had contacted police with concerns about Crook’s welfare. He was found by officers in Buckinghamshire and was taken to hospital.

Milica’s body was found and a knife was recovered from the flat. Crook was arrested on suspicion of her murder.

The court heard that a post mortem examination established that the medical cause of Milica’s death was a stab wound to the chest.

In a tribute to Milica, her mother Elijana said: “My soul aches and everything inside me is falling apart. Pain and sadness are destroying me from the inside.

“I still wonder why. I hug the cold stone with her name, I water the dry earth with tears and I repeat why? Why did he take her from me?

“I look at her picture in the silence of the apartment and it seems to me that she will speak, move her lips, smile at me, but only my breathing and sobs are heard.

“Everything hurts – remembering how she rushed to be born, her laughter when I kissed her little hands and feet, her first steps and first words, her squealing, crying and jumping in the yard, her first day at school. Her life that should have continued.

“The words that I didn’t tell her hurt. It hurts that I won’t be able to hug her anymore, to smell her scent. It hurts that she could still love, work, laugh, cry, rejoice, suffer. The emptiness hurts.

“Everything stopped for me. I lost a part of myself, I wake up in pain, I work out of habit, mechanically. I lie down in pain, but there is no sleep in my eyes. Everything suddenly became a straight line. It’s hard to live like this, but I go through life with my head held high. I smile and tell myself ‘I’m fine’, but I’m lying.”

Detective Inspector Ian Fitzgerald said: “My thoughts and condolences are still very much with Milica’s family.

“I’d like to thank all the officers and staff, and criminal justice partners who helped with this investigation and have helped us to secure justice for Milica.”