'I picked up phone to hear my wife being brutally murdered down the line'

In a chilling account, Dan Cross has described the harrowing experience of listening on the phone as his wife was brutally stabbed in their home.

Speaking to podcaster James English, Dan recounted how he was away in Hull on business when he received a call from his wife Nicola, who was at their Hertfordshire home with their two children.

He recalled: "All the way through that day I was in communication with Nic because the kids were off from school and nursery, because they weren't well."

The day, which began ordinarily for the family, took a nightmarish turn when Nicola expressed her fears about a suspicious man loitering, knocking on doors, and damaging cars nearby. Although she'd contacted the police, she felt little had been done.

Dan painfully remembered the last conversation he had with Nicola in September 2015, saying: "The first thing she said was 'There's been a bloke hanging around outside the house earlier, and don't get cross with me but I called the police'." Nicola said that the police had asked her why she thought she might be targeted, but failed to provide further assistance.

She expressed her fears that the man might seek revenge as she had alerted the police. Dan remembered: "She said 'I'm a little bit worried, because I can hear banging again ...I think he's got the hump because I phoned the police on him and he's going to have a go at me or something'."

However, while they were conversing, Nicola heard a loud noise. She carried her phone with her as she went downstairs to investigate.

Dan overheard her challenge the intruder, recalling: "I heard Nikki actually say 'What what do you want? Get out of my house.' I knew someone was in there."

But within seconds, Nicola's words transformed into terrifying screams. Dan could hear a struggle ensuing, but being 180 miles away, he was powerless to help. He called 999 from the hotel phone, but was redirected to a call centre in Hull.

Dan attempted to explain his urgent need to reach Hertfordshire police, which felt like an excruciatingly long process. Eventually, officers were dispatched to their home in Hemel Hempstead, and a policeman was also sent to Dan's hotel.

In the meantime, the connection to his wife's phone had become ominously quiet. "I think deep down i knew something really awful had happened because of the nature of the screams," Dan said. "I kind of assumed that Nikki was probably dead, and I thought the kids were probably next."

Dan was left anxious as waiting until an officer from Hull arrived at his hotel room. Recounting the experience, Dan said: "He was this big Yorkshire copper. He was huge, he was about six foot five, and he was just sitting there and he had his hand on my shoulder and I remember him saying 'Just try not to panic, we're going to find out what's going on'."

The situation escalated when a second officer came with news. "She came back, and said 'Listen, your children are fine your children are absolutely fine,' but I'm still trying to find out about your wife," Dan explained.

The news took a tragic turn as the officer returned once more. "Then she went away again, and when she came back she said 'Mr Cross, I'm sorry to tell you your wife has died.' I just fell onto this copper, this big bloke and he was just hugging me and i was just sobbing my heart out."

Nicola Cross, aged 37, was the victim of a brutal attack by Polish warehouse worker Marcin Porczynski, who stabbed her ten times while her young children were in the house. Porczynski had smashed his way into the family home using a heavy plant pot before attacking Nicola with two knives.

The court was told that 26-year-old Porczynski had been plagued by auditory hallucinations for around three weeks, believing that children were being starved in the Cross household. After murdering Nicola, he proceeded upstairs, found the children, and led them outside, leaving behind a bloodied knife next to an elf on the children's bedside tables.

In December 2016, Porczynski, found to have amphetamines and cocaine in his system upon arrest, received an indefinite hospital order after admitting to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Dan recounts a sole encounter with the man responsible for his wife's death. "He didn't look evil," he remembered. "He just looked like a lost soul."